EMS mourns the loss of Associate Medical Director Dr. Mark Ackrell

Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services on Monday announced, “with profound sadness and extremely heavy hearts,” the passing of Dr. Mark Ackrell, who died unexpectedly over the weekend at his home. Ackrell served in the department for nearly 17 years and worked in the community for several years before that, including emergency medical work at St. David’s South Austin Hospital and St. David’s Medical Center. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh medical school in 1992 and had more than 31 years of experience in the medical field, according to online sources. Selena Xie, president of the Austin EMS Association, told the Austin Monitor, “The death of Dr. Ackrell is a loss for all of Austin as one of the best in emergency medicine. For the Austin EMS community, we’re also losing a mentor, caring friend, and the best laugh you’ve ever heard.”

According to the city of Austin’s website, Dr. Ackrell was the medical director for Fayette County EMS and Texas EMS. He had multiple federal assignments and worked internationally as the medical director for AlphaStar Aviation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Funeral arrangements had not been announced as of Monday afternoon.