Dr. Benjamin Norman Abo DO

Dr. Abo is an EMS and emergency physician and toxinologist here in Naples, Florida and assistant professor for Florida Statue University School of Medicine. He started in EMS over 25 years ago as a teenager in high school in Mount Laurel, NJ. After completing a bachelor’s degree in Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, where he also obtained his NREMT-P, CCEMT-P, and FP-C, he stayed on as faculty for the Center for Emergency Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Department of Emergency Medicine as a researcher and Coordinator of Education in International Emergency Medicine/EMS. He then spent some time abroad living in India just prior to starting medical school in the San Francisco Bay area. After walking with honors from a dual medicine and master’s in public health program from Touro College of Medicine – California, he took time off prior to residency to start a non-profit in Africa aimed at decreasing maternal and neonatal mortality and trauma. He completed a four-year emergency medicine residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center – Miami Beach and Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, FL, while completing a fellowship in wilderness medicine through the Wilderness Medical Society. After residency, Dr. Abo completed an EMS fellowship at the University of Florida where he then accepted a full-time position. Throughout all his training, Dr. Abo has remained clinically active in EMS FL-5 DMAT disaster team, FEMA/Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Urban Search & Rescue (USAR) Task Force 1 (FLTF1). In 2019, he left his full-time position with the University of Florida to move to Naples. He has also remained active as a paramedic physician with current specialty rescue certifications with various services globally and continues to do research and lecture globally. This included being Assistant Medical Director for Hallandale Beach Fire Rescue prior to the merger. Dr. Abo has authored numerous chapters and research on a variety of EMS topics including multiple chapters in Wilderness EMS Textbooks. He currently oversees medical direction and consultation for several projects, services, EMS schools, and media production including Shark Week and Kings of Pain. He has a strong interest in anything EMS, toxinology/venoms, EMS for children, international EM/EMS, mentorship, resiliency and sustainability in emergency services, disaster medicine, educational and experiential processes, wilderness/austere medicine, and technical rescue practices. Dr. Abo is an innovator in Emergency and Pre-Hospital Medicine, the recipient of several awards for education, heroism, and valor, and proudly an advocate for all emergency providers here in his hometown of Naples.