Pittsburgh EMS Chief Resigns to Take Insurance VP Post

Pittsburgh EMS Chief Robert McCaughan, who joined the force at its inception, said Friday he will resign early next month to assume a newly created position as vice president of pre-hospital services at Highmark Inc.

"I didn't see this coming," he said. "I was very flattered to be asked."

On April 4, he will hand over the reins of the Emergency Medical Services bureau to Deputy Chief Mark Bocian, who will act as chief until city officials decide to promote him, offer the position to someone else or hold an open search for a replacement.

Five days after his resignation becomes official, Chief McCaughan will take over his new duties at Highmark Inc., where he will work to improve communication and coordination between hospitals, urgent care clinics and other facilities. A Highmark spokesman declined to release his salary. He currently makes $95,560 a year, according to city records.

Chief McCaughan, 58, began his EMS work in Penn Hills in 1974. When Pittsburgh formed its bureau a year later, he transferred, serving in various supervisory roles before becoming chief in December 2004.

He has been credited with starting the city's River Rescue Unit -- something he did in part because he was trained as a scuba diver -- and its motorcycle paramedic unit, which responds to busy events such as Steelers games. He oversaw the development of a tactical paramedic team that embeds with the SWAT team and responded to the shootings at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic earlier this month.

Perhaps the most controversial moment in the chief's career came two years ago, when a Hazelwood man died after paramedics failed to reach his home. Chief McCaughan declined to comment on the case because a lawsuit has been filed.

Copyright 2012 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

McClatchy-Tribune News Service