Dr. Thom Mayer

Joining me in the Huddle this week is one of my closest friends, Dr. Thom Mayer. Our story goes way back to the early days of my Pro career in Washington D.C. Thom tells how we met at Redskins park and how that day created our longtime friendship. Thom has also been the Medical Director for the NFL Players Association since 2001. He became director when his good friend, Hall of Famer, Gene Upshaw. Gene was the head of the NFLPA and asked Thom to be Medical Director because the NFLPA did not have one. Thom has used his expertise to define the NFL players' medical leadership. He is from Anderson, Indiana, and went to Hanover College, where he played linebacker and center. He had a tryout in the NFL but realized he needed to go down a different path. He was accepted to medical school at Duke and completed his residency in Utah, where he met Maureen. Thom and Maureen has 3 kids and 4 grandkids Dr. Mayer is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BestPractices, Inc., Executive Vice President of EmCare, the Medical Director for the NFL Players Association and Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University, and a Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke University. He is one of the most widely-sought speakers on healthcare customer service, trauma, and emergency care, pediatric emergency care, medical leadership, and sports medicine. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles, 75 book chapters and has edited or written 12 textbooks on emergency medicine, including Leadership for Great Customer Service: Satisfied Patients, Satisfied Employees, Leadership for Smooth Patient Flow, Hardwiring Flow, and Strauss and Mayer's Emergency Department Leadership: Principles and Applications. Tom Peters, the internationally acclaimed leadership guru, has referred to his work as "gasp-worthy." Dr. Mayer was named the ACEP Outstanding Speaker of the Year in the second year the award was given and has twice been named ACEP's "Over-the-Top" award winner. On September 11, 2001, Dr. Mayer served as one of the Command Physicians at the Pentagon Rescue Operation, coordinating medical assets at the site. The BestPractices physicians at Inova Fairfax Hospital were the first to successfully diagnose and treat inhalational anthrax victims during the fall 2001 anthrax crises. Dr. Mayer has served on the Department of Defense on Defense Science Board Task Forces on Bioterrorism, Homeland Security, and Consequences of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Dr. Mayer also serves as a Medical Director for the Studer Group.