My name is Dr. Joe Bellezzo
I’m a practicing physician dedicated to upholding the quality of care provided in the specialty of emergency medicine
Throughout my 20+ year career, I’ve been committed to the practice of medicine through practical application, education, outreach, and philanthropy.
my background
I helped pioneer the use of ECMO in the Emergency Department
I am a leading authority in the use of crash heart-lung bypass, also known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for patients in cardiac arrest.
I developed the world's first Emergency Department ECMO program, which realizes outcomes after cardiac arrest that are four times greater than traditional CPR.
I am the Co-Founder and Keynote Speaker of the internationally-acclaimed Reanimate Conference, which facilitates hands-on ECMO training.
My work has been featured in TV documentaries, medical education podcasts, peer-reviewed journal articles, and I've authored several textbook chapters.
trustworthy. concise. articulate.
Retain an expert witness who is a leader in his medical community
My Professional Interests
Emergency Medicine:
Full-time practice at Sharp Memorial Hospital: a non-academic, suburban, community-based, Trauma Center in San Diego, California.
Chief of the Department of Emergency Medicine from 2016 - 2020
Emergency Department ECMO Director.
Teaching & Medical Education:
The REANIMATE Conference: Co-host & co-founder of the highly-acclaimed international resuscitation conference, which has taught bleeding-edge resuscitation to clinicians for over 8 years.
edecmo.org: Co-founder of the educational website/blog/podcast edecmo.org which explores ECMO and advanced resuscitation techniques.
Acclaimed international public speaker on Emergency Medicine and resuscitation.
Hospital Administration:
Chair of the Medical Executive Committee
Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee at the Sharp Healthcare Foundation
Chair of the Board of Directors for San Diego Emergency Physicians.
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO):
Pioneered the use of ECMO in the Emergency Department.
Co-Founder of the world's first Emergency Department ECMO program.
First Emergency Physician to successfully use ECMO to save a dying patient (2010).
Patient Advocacy:
Chief-of-Staff at Sharp Memorial Hospital, serving as Chair of the Medical Executive Committee - the governing body that oversees quality assurance and patient safety throughout the Hospital.
10 years of experience on the Emergency Department Supervisory Committee - the committee tasked with overseeing Quality and Patient Safety in the Emergency Department.
Philanthropy:
Chairman of the Sharp Healthcare Foundation Board of Directors (2021-2023), endorsing the power of grateful patient giving and community leadership.
Co-Founder: 2vital2die 501(c)3 Foundation - a Foundation which raised funds to provide mechanical chest compression devices to the San Diego County Emergency Medical Services providers.
I’ll cut through the jargon and explain the medical issues in a comprehensible way
fun facts
Get to Know Me
I was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 1986 Major League Baseball professional baseball draft, but instead accepted a full-ride scholarship to play NCAA Division 1 baseball at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) and then Loyola Marymount University (LMU). For me, baseball was a means to finance my undergraduate education en route to medical school.
I am an avid mountain biker, snowboarder, and commute to and from the hospital by motorcycle.
Occasionally I play guitar & harmonica, as a guest musician, with bands at local wineries.
I am very happily married and have two amazing teenage girls.
