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Faculty

Robert Ravndal

MA, NRP
Paramedic Instructor / Program Director
Southeast Community College

Rob Ravndal is a paramedic program director and instructor at Southeast Community College and spent 17 years as a paramedic and firefighter/paramedic in urban, suburban, and rural EMS systems. After developing PTSD following a critical incident in 2015 and retiring from first response in 2018, he began using a service dog as part of his treatment, an experience that revealed how unprepared he was for calls involving legitimate service-animal teams. Rob holds a master’s degree in history from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and is currently a PhD student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studying equity issues in education and healthcare. His lived experience, academic training, and ongoing research inform his work to improve EMS understanding of service-animal access.

2026 Sessions

Service Animals and EMS: What Every Provider Must Know

Yes, I understand

This presentation focuses on the Americans with Disabilities Act and the language it uses surrounding service animals. In presenting the facts within the confines of the ADA, participants will become familiar with the primary dos and don’ts of navigating calls for service with patients with service animals.

The ADA uses surprising elementary language and the U.S. Department of Justice makes resources available in laymen’s terms that can be implemented with ease. This presentation breaks a seemingly complex issue into the most basic terms and delineates the differences between service animals, emotional support animals, and therapy animals as well as how their access rights differ. The presentation culminates with various scenarios in which service animals should and should not be transported in the ambulance with the patient.

Presenter (1 Presenter)

Friday, October 02 8:30–9:30 AM
Room W230 A
Faculty

Robert Ravndal

MA, NRP
Paramedic Instructor / Program Director
Southeast Community College

Rob Ravndal is a paramedic program director and instructor at Southeast Community College and spent 17 years as a paramedic and firefighter/paramedic in urban, suburban, and rural EMS systems. After developing PTSD following a critical incident in 2015 and retiring from first response in 2018, he began using a service dog as part of his treatment, an experience that revealed how unprepared he was for calls involving legitimate service-animal teams. Rob holds a master’s degree in history from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and is currently a PhD student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studying equity issues in education and healthcare. His lived experience, academic training, and ongoing research inform his work to improve EMS understanding of service-animal access.
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