Dr. Lonnie Schwirtlich is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and fellow of the American College of Emergency Medicine. He has been actively practicing emergency medicine in the trenches of emergency rooms since 1981 after medical school and emergency medicine training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

During his career as a full time emergency physician, he has served as emergency medical director of Brownsville Medical Center, Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, Bay Area Medical Center and Christus Spohn Shoreline Medical Center in Corpus Christi. He has been active in EMS directorship and training as EMS director for Brownsville, Harlingen, Rancho Viejo, Los Fresnos, South Padre Island, Port Isabel, and Raymondville while he lived in the Rio Grande Valley. He was EMS medical director for Sedona, Arizona while living in Arizona, and Port Aransas EMS medical director while living in Corpus Christi. Dr. Schwirtlich was the managing partner of an emergency staffing group for 15 yrs. He has been involved in mentoring and teaching ER scribes, medical students, family practice and emergency medicine residents as well as EMS/paramedics in both the Rio Grande Valley and the Corpus Christi facilities.

He is heavily involved in the Freestanding Emergency Center world, giving lectures and offering rotations in FECs to emergency medicine residents. One of the original Founders of Physicians Premier Emergency Centers, he is also one of the Board of managers and CMO. Dr. Schwirtlich has been on the Board of TAFEC and NAFEC since 2016 serving as president and vice president during that time. He has been actively involved in The American College of Emergency Physicians throughout his career in medicine traveling to Washington DC and Austin for both ACEP and NAFEC/TAFEC. His mission is to get emergency care in all communities throughout the United States so everyone has access when they need it most.

In addition to his medical work, Lonnie owns and works on two ranches that grow crops, cattle, honey, pecans, and olives as well as a farm in Washington state where he raises lavender for its oil and flowers.

He has four daughters that he enjoys spending time with. He enjoys traveling and all types of sports including surfing, fishing, backpacking, skiing, boating, triathalons and endurance sports. Dr. Schwirtlich is the medical director and also runs in the largest relay marathon in the nation, Beach to Bay Relay Marathon in Corpus Christi.