Rich Saalsaa, 68, is a 50-year veteran of Public Safety with a career as a first responder in the fire service as a Firefighter/EMT through Deputy Fire Chief, as well as a designer of software applications and systems for 9-1-1 and Nurse Advice Call Center around the world. He holds six US and one Canadian Patent for inventions in Computer Aided Dispatch, Emergency Medical Dispatch, Nurse Advice Call Center systems, and Dispatch Quality Assurance systems. Rich is also a City Counselor for his local community of Philomath Oregon and still volunteers as an EMT for the local fire department (where he retired from in December of 2024).
Rich and Dr Godby were classmates in the early 1970s and have followed each other’s career paths over the years. Rich has joined the final leg of the walk from Bozeman to Seattle and has taken on the responsibilities of co-managing the event. Rich brings his real-world experience of pre-hospital care and participation in local government to call attention to Health Equity and being of service to his community.