A Night of Inspiration: 2025 Hooley Award Winners Shine at Connect

EAGAN, Minn., May 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ImageTrend announced the winners of its 2025 Hooley Awards during a celebration at the 17th annual ImageTrend Connect Conference. Now in its 10th year, the Hooley Awards honor industry leaders who demonstrate outstanding innovation, service, and forward-thinking approaches to improving emergency response and community health.

Each year, the Hooley Awards spotlight the work of individuals and organizations that go beyond traditional boundaries to create meaningful impact in EMS, fire, and healthcare. Finalists were selected by a panel of industry experts and celebrated during the awards ceremony on April 30 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

About the Hooley Awards

The Hooley Awards were founded to recognize exceptional contributions in three categories:

• Innovation Award: Recognizes those serving in new or inventive ways to benefit providers, administrators, or their community.
  
  
• Service Award: Honors the use of data to advance community safety and public service goals.
  
  
• New Frontier Award: Celebrates individuals who go beyond the call of duty to serve in humanitarian or groundbreaking ways.

2025 Hooley Award Winners

Innovation Award
Winner: Katharine Hickcox | SWORD Program Coordinator
Organization: Office of Emergency Medical Services, Connecticut Department of Public Health

Katharine Hickcox led a groundbreaking interdepartmental initiative leveraging the Statewide Opioid Reporting Data (SWORD) system to guide placement of Naloxone vending machines across Connecticut. By collaborating with epidemiologists and multiple state agencies, she helped create an interactive location allocation model identifying high-overdose zones, aligning harm reduction strategies with real-time data. This innovative use of ImageTrend's platform and public health data is now shaping resource deployment statewide.

Service Award
Winner: Peggy Huddleston | Program Specialist
Organization: Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

Following the repeal of Missouri's motorcycle helmet law, Peggy Huddleston and her team partnered with ImageTrend Epidemiologist Morgan Anderson to quantify the law's impact using EMS and trauma data. Their findings showed a dramatic increase in fatalities and head injuries among unhelmeted riders. This data-informed approach influenced statewide awareness efforts and led to legislative education initiatives, demonstrating how data can fuel public policy conversations and drive change.

New Frontier Award
Winner: Armando Suarez Del Real | Deputy Chief
Organization: West Allis Fire Department

Deputy Chief Suarez has redefined community care in West Allis, Wisconsin, through the department's Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) program. Utilizing ImageTrend's Elite and Community Health solutions, his team achieved an 80% reduction in high-utilizer 911 calls and established a first-of-its-kind municipal data exchange contract with a VA hospital. His leadership and vision exemplify a future-forward, data-driven approach to EMS and public health collaboration.

"The 2025 Hooley Award winners represent the very best of what can happen when passion meets purpose and data meets action," said Patrick Sheahan, President and CEO of ImageTrend. "The winners are industry trailblazers, and we are honored to celebrate their achievements."

Follow ImageTrend on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X for highlights from the Hooley Awards celebration and to learn more about the stories behind this year's winners.

About ImageTrend

ImageTrend transforms incident data into actionable intelligence, empowering frontline teams to effectively manage surging demands and resource constraints, driving impactful change in the communities it supports.

Founded in 1998, the company serves more than 3,100 customers including 20,000 agencies across Fire, Emergency Medical Services, and Hospital segments. With its deep industry knowledge and advanced data analytics capabilities, the software provider helps its customers streamline operations, shape long-term strategies, and dramatically improve outcomes. Its comprehensive software solutions and dedicated team provide the confidence and intelligence first providers need to tackle today's challenges and prepare for tomorrow's uncertainties.

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SOURCE ImageTrend LLC