Raymond Fowler, M.D., FACEP, FAEMS, Professor Emeritus of Emergency Medicine and one of the most respected emergency medicine and EMS physicians of his generation, died Oct. 16.

For almost half a century – the last 25 years at UT Southwestern and Parkland Health – Dr. Fowler helped shape the field of emergency medical services (EMS) as a physician, scientist, educator, author, and disaster-response expert. He helped coordinate medical care and relief services in Dallas following hurricanes Katrina, Gustav, and Harvey.

After joining the UT Southwestern faculty in 2001, Dr. Fowler began practicing emergency medicine at Parkland Health, one of the busiest emergency rooms (ERs) in the country, and served as an Emergency Department medical director and manager at UT Southwestern. Additionally, he held the James M. Atkins, M.D. Distinguished Professorship in Emergency Medical Services.

An engaging speaker and poet, Dr. Fowler recently shared his perspective on caring for patients in the ER: “People do not come to see us when they’re having a nice day,” he said. “They come with questions that may be very difficult, but that’s the reason you get into medicine – to help solve problems of pain and of fear and of facing the unknown.”

Beyond his clinical and academic work, Dr. Fowler helped shape the practice of EMS medicine nationally. As a co-founder of the National Association of EMS Physicians, the physician subspecialty organization for EMS medicine, he was its second nationally elected President. He also served as President of the Georgia College of Emergency Physicians and helped establish the EMS State of the Sciences Conference, widely known as the Gathering of Eagles.

Throughout his career, Dr. Fowler worked to improve outcomes across the spectrum of prehospital care, including cardiac arrest, trauma, and behavioral emergencies. As a Principal Investigator on multiple studies and author of numerous book chapters and influential papers in emergency medicine and EMS journals, he brought a distinctive perspective to the evolving clinical practices and broader challenges shaping the field.

In 2012, Dr. Fowler received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Emergency Medical Services from the American College of Emergency Physicians. And just this year, he was presented with the 2026 Ronald D. Stewart Award for long-standing excellence in emergency medical services, the highest honor from the National Association of EMS Physicians.

Dr. Fowler’s lifelong leadership, scholarship, and advocacy helped advance emergency medicine and EMS, strengthening the systems that deliver care in critical moments. His legacy endures in the people and institutions carrying that work forward.