Dr. Campbell passed away in 2018. Dr. Campbell was an excellent physician, innovator, pioneer, and teacher with many outstanding achievements. Dr. Campbell was known worldwide for his innovative and groundbreaking work in developing prehospital trauma education. In 1982, Dr. Campbell founded the Basic Trauma Life Support (BTLS) program. It was the first course and curriculum dedicated to prehospital trauma assessment and trauma care worldwide. He taught, alongside Colonel Jim Smith (his future co-author), and conducted the first BTLS course in August of 1982. He wanted to teach paramedics the principles of advanced trauma life support (ATLS) to improve the care provided to trauma patients. He partnered with the Alabama Chapter of ACEP to publish the first BTLS textbook in 1982. Basic Trauma Life Support has since been renamed to International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) to better reflect its scope and mission, and it is now a global organization offering 15 types of trauma courses and teaching over 30,000 students annually in over 40 countries."John did not set out to be an EMS leader," said ITLS Editor-in-Chief Roy Alson, PhD, MD, FACEP, who has served on the editorial board alongside Dr. Campbell for many years. "Thirty years ago, he developed a new trauma course and said, 'Why aren't we teaching this to EMS?' Along the way, he convinced countless doctors, nurses, and EMS, fire, and police personnel to share his vision. The legacy John leaves is measured in the lives saved by those who have been ITLS trained. He will be missed."Dr. Campbell had a lifelong interest in the military and supported law enforcement throughout his life. Dr. Campbell, Chief Jim Smith, Dr. Lawrence Heiskell, and Dr. John Wipfler worked together with over 120 contributors and reviewers to generate the first comprehensive textbook on tactical medicine, Tactical Medicine Essentials, which was copyrighted and published in 2012. Endorsed by the American College of Emergency Physicians, Dr. Campbell was able to contribute his extensive experience in the public safety prehospital arena to this textbook. The first edition has sold over 6000 copies and is used in tactical medicine education worldwide. Dr. Campbell's legacy lives on not only in the form of ITLS, but also in the form of Tactical Medicine Essentials, Second Edition, written by his three co-authors.
