Working together with community leaders, health system stakeholders, and local, state, and national EMS leadership, Medstar is changing the way EMS and mobile healthcare are delivered throughout our state.
Medstar’s leadership is committed to providing compassionate care and unparalleled clinical quality, a rewarding and safe provider experience, community engagement, and expansion of the delivery of mobile health care. Our Board of Directors is comprised of emergency physicians, elected community officials, nursing and healthcare leaders, and local civic leaders. Clinical oversight is provided through our Emergency Physician Advisory Board, comprised of physicians and EMS leaders from our stakeholder health systems. Our Community Leadership and Advisory Committee provides insight to our Board of Directors on issues that are important to the municipalities and communities that we serve.
Kolby Miller, Medstar CEO
Our team is led by Kolby Miller, Medstar’s Chief Executive Officer. A Michigan paramedic for over 30 years, Kolby’s EMS career began in Flint in 1987, and he has led Medstar since 2005.
Reporting to the Board of Directors, he is responsible for ensuring that our organization exceeds the expectations of all Medstar stakeholders, including patients, families, community and healtcare leaders, and our team members.
Kolby has served on the Michigan Association of Ambulance Services (MAAS) board of directors since 2002, leading the Legislative and Regulatory Committee for several years, and president in 2009, and again from 2017-2019. Kolby has coordinated the education speakers at Michigan EMS Expo on behalf of MAAS since 2010. Kolby is a Survey Team Leader for the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS,) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Traffic Improvement Association of Michigan, the Lapeer Family Literacy Center, and the Child Advocacy Center of Lapeer County.
Kolby’s leadership principle is simply, “Take care of the people who take care of the people."
Under his leadership, Medstar has grown from an average of 74 responses each day with 80 full-time employees to a 2023 daily forecast of 540 responses and 960 team members in eleven Michigan counties. “Although our organization grows each year, our focus remains providing compassionate and clinically exceptional care available, one patient at a time, with the best trained, best equipped, and most skilled providers in our region,” said Kolby.
He holds an MBA from Walsh College and completed his bachelor’s degree at Michigan Christian (Rochester) College. In addition, Kolby earned the Professional Emergency Manager (PEM) Certification from the Michigan State Police in 1992, Six Sigma-Healthcare Certification from Villanova University, and several Michigan Firefighters Training Council certifications. Originally from Swartz Creek, Michigan, Kolby now lives in Hartland and focuses his time away from Medstar on advocacy for those experiencing homelessness, documentary filmmaking, and sailing.
Andrew Brown, Vice President of Stakeholder Integration
Andrew is Medstar’s Vice President of Stakeholder Integration. He maintains and develops client and facility relationships, new business services, and lines of business and acts as a Medstar representative in stakeholder healthcare systems and community engagement.
The September 11th terror attacks inspired Andrew to become a first responder and work in public safety. “Until 9/11, I hadn’t considered a career in EMS,” Andrew said. “It was a call for duty to serve my community.”
Andrew has served in EMS for more than 15 years. He has been a licensed EMT since 2004 and Paramedic since 2008. In 2009 he became a University of Maryland Baltimore County certified Critical Care Paramedic and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Business Administration. His recognitions include the 2012 American Ambulance Association Star of Life Recipient. In addition, Andrew was the Team Paramedic for the Detroit Pistons from 2008-2010.
In addition to his role at Medstar, Andrew is the elected Chair of the Detroit East Medical Control Authority Advisory Committee and the current President-Elect of Michigan EMS Practitioners Association, where he has served on the board since 2016. In 2019, he was appointed to the State of Michigan Medical Control Authority Committee.
Andrew says a quote from Walter Reuther has helped guide him through his career: “There is no greater calling than to serve your fellow men. There is no greater contribution than to help the weak. There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well.”
Susan Burkhardt, Vice President of Healthcare Integration
Susan Burkhardt is Vice President of Healthcare Integration and has been with Medstar for over 12 years. Susan works with stakeholder hospitals and skilled nursing facility service delivery. Her role at Medstar combines her love of patient care with problem-solving, strategic planning, and community relations. In addition to developing and cultivating relationships with healthcare systems, she also has oversight of the Medstar Billing Department. Susan completed the Medstar Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) program to increase her knowledge of EMS.
Outside of Medstar, Susan serves as Vice-Chair on the Martha T. Berry Foundation Board, as well as on the Henry Ford Macomb Ambassador Committee, American Heart Association Heart Safety Committee, Macomb County Community Action Board, Henry Ford Macomb Quality and Safety Committee, the Health Care Association of Michigan, and the Michigan Chapter of the National Association of Directors of Nursing in Long-Term Care (NADONA).
Throughout her career, Susan has received several recognitions, including the Athena Award Nominee 2019 from the Macomb County Chamber of Commerce, the 2019 Medstar Robert Cannon Community Leadership Award, the Volunteer of the Year Award from McLaren Macomb Hospital (2013), the Henry Ford Macomb Volunteer of the Year Award (2011), and the 2016 Michigan NADONA “Star Partner of the Year Award” in recognition of her work with NADONA and the Michigan Association of Healthcare Administrators.
Susan received her Bachelor of Science from Northwood University and her Master of Healthcare Administration from Central Michigan University.
Kevin Wilkinson, Vice President of Clinical and Educational Services
Kevin is Medstar’s Vice President of Clinical and Educational Services, where he is responsible for all field operations, including the direct responsibility for Operations Managers, Operations Supervisors, Education Managers, and educational and clinical team members, including EMTs and Paramedics. He has been with Medstar since 2019 and comes to the organization with more than 35 years of experience in EMS.
Kevin is a “Just Culture” champion and says, “I believe that empowering our team members and encouraging their professional development results in the safest and best clinical care available.”
Outside of Medstar, Kevin is a Michigan Association of EMS Practitioners Association (MiEMSPA) Board Member and past president. He serves on the Michigan Emergency Medical Services Steering Committee (EMSCC), where he is also the chair of the Michigan Ad-Hoc Oversight Committee of Air Medical Providers and a member of the Education Subcommittee.
Kevin has been a Paramedic since 1984 and holds leadership certificates from the American Ambulance Association and the Medical Transport Leadership Institute of the Association of Air Medical Services.
Kevin and his wife support local Veterans initiatives in their community, such as the Vietnam Moving Wall and the Wreaths Across America initiative. They are also long-time members of the Detroit Zoological Society and participate in local cancer charity events.
Lainie Budzynowski, Vice President of Finance
Lainie Budzynowski is the Vice President of Finance, where she is responsible for financial management strategy, financial analysis, accounting, cash management, reporting, and audit engagement.
Lainie came to Medstar from the Detroit Medical Center, where she served as the Market Controller for the Detroit Medical Center, which consisted of 6 hospitals and various entities, including the DMCs Graduate Medical Education program and DMC University Lab.
Lainie received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a
concentration in Finance from the University of Phoenix and attended Michigan State University, Eli-Broad Graduate School, where she was certified in Emergency Financial Management. She graduated from the Tenet Healthcare Finance Academy in Dallas, Texas. She is certified in SAP and is a member of the Institute of Management Accountants.