Matthew C. Gratton, M.D.

Professor, Associate Chief Medical Officer
Department(s) of Emergency Medicine
University Health - UMKC Health Sciences District
Education and Background

M.D. - St. Louis University School of Medicine
Residency - Emergency Medicine - Truman Medical Center / University of Missouri - Kansas City
ABEM Diplomate - 1984/1994/2004/2014

Meet Matthew Gratton
Biography

Dr. Gratton was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He graduated from St. Louis University School of Medicine in 1979 and completed a transitional internship at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland in 1980. He completed his emergency medicine residency at Truman Medical Center in 1983 and has been board certified since 1984.
After completing several years of active duty service in the Navy, Dr Gratton returned to Truman where he focused on Emergency Medical Services (EMS.) From 1989 – 1993 he was the Medical Director for MAST, the Kansas City, Missouri public utility model ambulance service and from 1999 – 2004 and again from 2006 – 2007 was the EMS Medical Director for Kansas City, Missouri. During this tenure the KCMO EMS System was comprised of MAST (about 300 paramedics and EMTs) and the KCMO Fire Department (about 1,000 EMTs and First Responders).

Dr. Gratton was a member of the US Navy Reserve from 1976 through 2007 and served in several overseas locations. He had four recalls to active duty, including deployments to Bahrain in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005. He retired from the Navy in the fall of 2007 as a Captain. Military awards include: Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Commendation Medal, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit and Fleet Marine Force Warfare Officer Device.

Dr. Gratton was Chair from 2007 through 2019. He is presently the Associate Chief Medical Officer for TMC Health Sciences District. He is the Vice President for Laboratory and Medical Imaging Services. He has published numerous abstracts and articles on EMS related and other topics. He stepped down as an oral examiner for the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Honors include: Staff Physician of the Year 1989, Mid-America Regional Council Emergency Physician of the Year 1992, Elmer Pierson Teaching Award (UMKC School of Medicine) 1993, Frank Mitchell EMS Physician of the Year (Missouri EMS Association) 2000, Ralph Ringo Coffee Award (Truman Medical Centers) 2017 and the MOCEP Lifetime Achievement Award 2018 and numerous KCMO City Council Resolutions. Dr Gratton is a Past President of the TMC Medical Dental Staff and a former Chair of Board of Directors of University Physician Associates.

Selected Publications

Barksdale A, Hackman J, Bonham A, Gratton M.  Cardiology Clinic Follow-Up Did Not Decrease Return Visits to the ED for Chest Pain Patients. Am J Emerg Med 2014; (32): 1208-1211 

Gratton M, Garza A, Salomone III J, McElroy J, Shearer J. Ambulance Staging for Potentially Dangerous Scenes:  Another Hidden Component of Response Time.  Prehosp Emerg Care 2010; 14: 340-344

Garza A, Gratton MC, Salomone JA, Lindholm D, McElroy J, Archer R.  Improved Patient Survival Using a Modified Resuscitation Protocol for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.  Circulation 2009; 119: 2597-2605

 Garza A, Algren A, Gratton M, Ma OJ: Populations at Risk for Intubation Nonattempt and Failure in the Prehospital Setting.  Prehospital Emergency Care. 2005; 9(2): 163-166

Garza A, Gratton M, Chen J, Carlson B:  The accuracy of diagnosing cardiac arrest by EMS Dispatchers; the calling party effect.  Acad Emerg Med 2003;10(9): 955-960

 Gratton M, Ellison S, Hunt J, Ma OJ:  Prospective determination of medical necessity for ambulance transport by paramedics.  Prehospital Emergency Care 2003;7(4): 466-469

Garza A, Gratton M, Coontz D, Noble E, Ma OJ:  Effect of paramedic experience on oral intubation success rates.  Am J of Emerg Med 2003;25(3): 251-256 

Gratton MC, Lindholm DJ, Campbell JP: Public-access defibrillation, Where do we place the AEDs? Prehospital Emergency Care 1999;4: 303-305

Campbell JP, Gratton MC, Salomone JA, Watson WA:  Ambulance arrival to patient contact:  the hidden component of prehospital response time intervals.  Ann Emerg Med 1993;22: 1254-1257

Gratton MC, Bethke RA, Watson WA, Gaddis GM:  Effect of standing orders on paramedic scene time for trauma patients.  Ann Emerg Med 1991;20: 1306-1309

Gratton MC, Salomone JA, Watson WA:  Clinically significant radiograph misinterpretations at an emergency medicine residency program.  Ann Emerg Med 1990;19: 497-502