Honolulu Emergency Services Department

Jim Ireland, M.D.

HESD Director (Poʻo)

Dr. Jim Ireland began his career in EMS at the age of 18 when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve and was trained as a combat medic. He obtained his Hawai‘i State EMT license through Kapiʻolani Community College which remains valid today. Ireland worked as a physician medical director for multiple ambulance services before returning to Hawaiʻi in 2005. From 2010-2013, he served as the Director of the Emergency Services Department in the City and County of Honolulu and most recently as the Innovative Practice Director at American Medical Response. He has worked as a private practice physician since 2005 and is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Ian Santee

HESD Deputy Director (Hope Poʻo)

Ian T.T. Santee has worked at the City & County of Honolulu for more than an 25 years as an EMT, Paramedic, Supervisor, and the last ten years as the Deputy Director of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department. He is a graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi’s Paramedic program at Kapiʻolani Community College. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The Deputy Director was the State of Hawaiʻi Paramedic of the Year, City and County of Honolulu Employee of the Year, and one of Pacific Business News 40 under 40.

Dr. Sean Covant

HESD Medical Director

Jenna Altomare

HESD Safety Officer

Jenna Altomare graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Speech. She went to Emergency Medical Technician school in 1996 and started working for the City & County of Honolulu in 1997. She graduated as a Paramedic in 1999 with an Associates Degree and became the Safety Specialist II for the Honolulu EMS Division in September 2017. In July 2022, Altomare became the Department Safety Specialist II, marking 25 years in the Department.

Shayne Enright

HESD Spokeswoman

Shayne Enright joined the Honolulu Emergency Services Department in 2012 as the Public Information Officer. She works with the Honolulu Emergency Medical Services Division and the Honolulu Ocean Safety Division, getting to share the incredibly courageous and life-saving work these men and women do daily.

Jackie Hilea

HESD Admin. Specialist

Kathy Higa

HESD Planner

Kathy Higa has worked at the City and County of Honolulu since 2015. She holds a BA in Biology, a minor in Business Administration and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Over the past seven years, she helped the department secure more than $3.3 million in federal grant funding to support its emergency disaster and preparedness operations. She also assists in managing a range of special projects with the Crisis Outreach Response and Engagement (C.O.R.E.) Program and newly constructed emergency medical services (EMS) facilities.