OUR TEAM
Sim Shain
FOUNDER & CEO
Sim is a national registered paramedic who started his EMS career in March 1993. Since 2007, he has worked per diem as a 9-1-1 paramedic for the largest provider of Advanced Life Support in NJ. In 2012, he earned the Paramedic of the Year Award from the State of New Jersey. He is also a member of the Lakewood Township Water Rescue Team. Sim holds a Bachelors Degree in Talmudic Law and volunteers with numerous organizations, including Howell Township First Aid and Rescue, Hatzolah EMS in New York and New Jersey, Chai Lifeline, Camp Simcha for children with cancer, Camp Simcha Special for children with disabilities and special needs, ZAKA International Rescue and Recovery and Misameach Spreading Smiles.
Dr. Mark Merlin
CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER
Dr. Mark Merlin is trained in Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine. He is the Vice-Chairman and EMS Fellowship Director at RWJ Barnbas Health/Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and has been active with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association as a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for Mission Lifeline. He is the Chief Medical Officer for MONOC, New Jersey’s largest EMS System, has published over 100 papers and abstracts on various emergency topics and directs the statewide EMS physician response program.
ROBERT VAN AMERONGEN, MD
MEDICAL DIRECTOR
Born and raised in New York City, Dr. Van Amerongen (aka “Dr. Van”) graduated from Yeshiva University cum laude and attended the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed his Pediatric Residency at North Shore University Hospital (Cornell) and then went on to complete a fellowship program at Bellevue Hospital and NYU Medical Center, where he became one of the first board certified Pediatric Emergency Medicine physicians in the New York area.
DR JOSH SCHWARTZBAUM
CHIEF FLIGHT PHYSICIAN
Joshua Schwarzbaum, MD, is an emergency and EMS physician. He completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at Jacobi and Montefiore Medical centers in Bronx, N.Y., and his fellowship in EMS and Disaster medicine at RWJ Barnabas Health in Newark, N.J. He currently works as an attending physician and associate director of EMS at Saint Barnabas Hospital in Bronx, NY.
DR ALEX FELDMAN, DO
FLIGHT PHYSICIAN
Born near Rutgers University-New Jersey Medical School – where he is currently an assistant professor of pediatrics – Dr. Feldman is a flight physician and board certified in pediatrics and neonatology. He attended college at Yeshiva University, graduating with honors in 2005, and completed medical school at New York College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating with honors in 2009. He completed Pediatrics residency at UMDNJ-NJMS in 2012 and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship at New York Medical College in 2015, serving as chief fellow from 2014-2015. Dr. Feldman’s research interests include the transition from fetal to neonatal life in premature infants and the impact of genetics on various neonatal outcomes.
DENISE SOURAJ-RAMJOHN
CHIEF FLIGHT SCHEDULER AND COORDINATOR
From departure to destination, Denise takes great pleasure in planning, scheduling, and overseeing even the minutest detail of your travel. Denise has a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Management from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, FAA Aircraft Dispatcher’s License from FlightSafety International. She has both Emergency Response and Crisis Management training, and has been in private aviation for almost 20 years. Denise was born in NYC and raised in NJ near the shore where she still resides with her husband and two girls.
SARAH SCHARF
DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS
Sarah is a high-energy leader in healthcare administration who has been involved in several healthcare IT start-ups and is often referred to as the ultimate “go-to person” to get anything accomplished. She has been an administrator in telehealth and air medical transportation, as well as in population health research. Sarah received a BA and MPH from Rutgers University and has been a highly regarded administrator, managing departments with physicians and scientific investigators.