About

I'm Dr. Joe Bellezzo...devoted husband, father, & practicing Emergency Physician.
I am a leading authority in the use of ECMO in emergency resuscitation, I helped develop the World's first Emergency Department ECMO program, and co-host the internationally acclaimed resuscitation conference REANIMATE.
I have dedicated my career over the past 20+ years to the practice of emergency medicine through practical application, education, outreach, and philanthropy.
I am the current Chair of the Sharp Healthcare Foundation Board of Directors.
My work has been featured in TV documentaries, medical education podcasts, peer-reviewed journal articles, and I've authored several textbook chapters.
I am an avid ethical patient advocate with years of experience as the Chief of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Chief-of-Staff Elect, and membership on the Medical Executive Committee, which oversees quality and patient safety.

My Professional Interests:

Emergency Medicine:

Full-time at practice at Sharp Memorial Hospital: a non-academic, suburban, community-based, Trauma Center in San Diego, California.
Chief of the Department of Emergency Medicine from 2016-2020
Emergency Department ECMO Director

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO):

Co-Founder of the World's first Emergency Department ECMO program.
First Emergency Physician to successfully use ECMO to save a dying patient (2010)

Teaching & Medical Education:

The REANIMATE Conference: Co-host & co-founder of the highly-acclaimed international resuscitation conference, which has been training bleeding-edge resuscitation techniques to clinicians for over 8 years.
edecmo.org: Co-host and co-founder of the educational website/blog/podcast edecmo.org which explores ECMO and advanced resuscitation techniques.
Acclaimed international public speaker on Emergency Medicine and resuscitation.

Patient Advocacy:

Chief-of-Staff Elect at Sharp Memorial Hospital serving on the Medical Executive committee, the governing body that oversees quality assurance and patient safety throughout the Hospital.
10 years of experience on the Emergency Department Supervisory Committee, a committee tasked with overseeing Quality and Patient Safety in the Emergency Department.

Philanthropy:

Chairman of the Sharp Healthcare Foundation Board of Directors, endorsing the power of grateful patient giving and community leadership.
Co-Founder: 2vital2die 501(c)3 Foundation - a Foundation which raised funds to provide mechanical chest compression devices to the San Diego County Emergency Medical Services providers.

Hospital Administration:

Trustee, Sharp Healthcare Board of Directors, including membership on the following committees:
- Board Member: Information Technology Committee
- Board Member: Quality and Patient Safety Committee
Board Member: Generational Health Steering Committee
Board Member: ECMO Steering Committee
Medical Executive Committee (MEC) member