Don Alves, MD

Dr. Donald Alves, MD, is an accomplished physician and healthcare leader with over 30 years of experience spanning clinical practice, education, emergency management, and public health. He currently serves as Eastern Regional Medical Director for Centurion Health, where he oversees primary care, emergency medicine, and public health initiatives, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to advocate for patients, optimize health outcomes, and ensure readiness for critical situations. Prior to this role, he served as Medical Director for the Maryland State Police for over 14 years, bringing a seasoned approach to managing complex health scenarios. He also leads medical services at the Eastern Correctional Institution, providing care for approximately 3,300 individuals while managing a team of physicians and mid-level providers. Dr. Alves’s career balances strategic leadership with hands-on clinical practice. He approves medications and consult requests, addresses acute medical concerns, and provides direct patient care in primary care and high-acuity settings. His experience includes tactical emergency medical services, occupational medicine, and disaster response, underscoring his ability to perform under pressure. He has held faculty positions at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University, and currently serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Emergency Health Services at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, reflecting his ongoing commitment to education and mentorship. Dr. Alves holds a medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School, completed a residency in emergency medicine, and a fellowship in Emergency Medical Services at the University of Maryland. He also earned an MS and Graduate Certificate in Emergency Health Services from UMBC. Board-certified and actively engaged with professional organizations including the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, Dr. Alves combines expertise, leadership, and education to improve patient care and healthcare systems. Outside of medicine, he enjoys reading, antiquing, and time with his family, finding balance and reflection in his personal pursuits.

• Medical Degree: Eastern Virginia Medical School
• Residency: Emergency Medicine.
• Fellowship: Emergency Medical Services, University of Maryland.
• Additional Training: Flight Surgeon, Fort Rucker, AL
• Internship: Internal Medicine

• American Board of Emergency Medicine

• American College of Emergency Physicians
• American Academy of Emergency Medicine
• National Commission on Correctional Health Care
• American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• American Criminal Justice Association - Lambda Alpha Epsilon

Journal Articles

Alves DW, Szucs PA. The demographics of e-mail for emergency medicine research. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine 19(3):192-195, May 2001.

Alves DW, Chen IA. Case report: warfarin-induced skin necrosis. Hospital Physician, August 2002, pp 39–42.

Hsu E, Winslow JA, Alves DW, Grabowski JG, Van Rooyen M. Effect of a large-scale urban chemical fire with hazardous materials spill on local emergency departments.

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 17(4):196–201, October–December 2002.

Alves DW. Smallpox survey. Section News: A Newsletter from the American College of Emergency Physicians Section of Disaster Medicine.12(3):2,7, July 2003.

Alves DW, Bissell RA Ambulance snatching: how vulnerable are we? The Journal of Emergency Medicine 25(2):211–214, August 2003.

Alves DW, Allegra J, Cochrane D, Cable G. Effect of lunar cycle on the occurrence of cardiopulmonary arrest. The European Journal of Emergency Medicine 10(3):225–228,

September 2003.

Hansen JL, Alves DW. Approach to the weak and dizzy patient (lesson 13). Critical Decisions in Emergency Medicine; 17(7):1–9, March 2003. (Reviewed and abstracted in

Journal Watch Emergency Medicine 7(11):87, November 2003.)

Alves DW, Kennedy MT. Community-acquired pneumonia in casualty: etiology, clinical features, and management (or a look at the “new” in pneumonia since 2002).” Current

Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine10:166–170, April 2004.

Alves DW, Moayedi S. A sane sauna solution saves service safely. Section of Disaster Medicine: A Newsletter from the American College of Emergency Physicians 14(3):2+,

August 2005.

Alves DW, Flannigan J. Operation Lifeline: Marylanders reaching out to answer Louisiana’s call for aid. Maryland EPIC, Fall 2005, p 10.

Alves DW. To Glue or Not to Glue? Practical Summaries in Acute Care 1(01):1-8, January 2006.

Alves DW, Lawner B. “Should RSI be Performed in the Prehospital Setting?” Practical Summaries in Acute Care 1(06): 45-52, June 2006. Subsequently modified by publisher

(Thompson-AHC) into on-line format for CMEweb.com, available at: http://www.cmeweb.com/gcourse_view.php?course_id=5870 (accessed 6/17/2006).

Lawner B, Alves DW, Gerold KB. “A Microscopic Offender: Armed, Dangerous and Contagious. Methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA) soft tissue infection.” The Tactical

Edge 25(4): 56-61, Fall 2007.

Alves DW, Bissell RA. “Bacterial Pathogens in Ambulances: Results of Unannounced Sample Collection.” Prehospital Emergency Care 12(2): 218-24, April-June 2008.

Lemkin DL, Bond MC, Alves DW, Bissell RA. “A Public Health Enforcement Initiative to Combat Underage Drinking Using Emergency Medical Services Call Data.” Prehospital

and Disaster Medicine 27(2): 1-5, April 2012.

Al Amiry A, Bissell RA, Maguire BJ, Alves DW. “MRSA Nasal Colonization Prevalence Among EMS Personnel.” Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 28(4): 1-5,

August 2013.

Levy MT, Smith R, Gerold KB, Alves DW, Tang N. “Clinical Encounters in Tactical Medicine: A Mission-Specific Analysis of the Maryland State Police Experience.” JSOM,

14(2) Summer 2014: 98-104.

Gerold KG, Gibbons ME, Fisette RE, Alves DW. “Review, Clinical Update, and Practice Guidelines for Excited Delirium Syndrome.” JSOM, 15(1) Spring 2015: 62-69.

Alves, DW. “The Administration of Naloxone by Police Officers—Antidote to an Epidemic.” Tactical Edge. Summer 2016: 62.

Letters

Alves DW, Allegra J, Wallace M, Cable G. Perceptions of success rates of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by CPR instructors [letter]. The American Journal of

Emergency Medicine 22(4):331–333, July 2004.

Alves DW, Allegra J, Wallace M, Allegra P. Emergency medicine residents have more accurate perceptions of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation success rates than non-emergency

medicine residents [letter]. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine 23(6):819–820, October 2005.

Books/Chapters/Reports

Alves DW, Wallace MR, Littlepage JR, Stockslager G, Harter B. Summer Camp Resource Manual. Brain Injury Association of Virginia, 1997.

Bissell RA, Bumbak D, Dean S, Maguire BJ, Walz BJ, Alves DW. EMS Response to a Bioterrorism Event or Massive Infectious Disease Outbreak. A Planning Guidance

Document Created for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, August 2005.

Report of the Maryland Attorney General’s Task Force on Electronic Weapons, December 2009. One of 15 members, and active contributor to final report.

Ehmann MR, Alves DW. “Phlegmasia Alba and Cerulea Dolens.” Cardiovascular Chapter #9, Atlas of Clinical Emergency Medicine, © 2015.

Report from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators’ (AAMVA) Law Enforcement Standing Committee’s Disability Placard/Plate Fraud Working Group, titled:

Persons with Disabilities Placards and License Plates—Best Practices in Deterring and Detecting Fraud and Misuse, August 2018. One of 17 members, and active contributor to

final report.