About Rob
Rob graduated from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1982 and completed his residency at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. Board certified in Internal Medicine, Dr. Realmuto practiced emergency medicine at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center from its opening in 1986. He served as Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine and was a dedicated member of the hospital’s Medical Executive Committee and Credentials Committee. He also served as Treasurer of the Medical Staff.
A respected member of the American College of Emergency Physicians, Dr. Realmuto received the College’s Service Award for Career Recognition in 1998. In August 2024, he was honored with the naming of Orange Coast Memorial’s new emergency department pavilion in his memory, recognizing his decades of service and leadership.
Dr. Realmuto was also a longtime member of the Society of Orange County Emergency Physicians, where he served on the Board of Directors and as Treasurer. He was a partner in California Emergency Physicians Medical Group (CEP), the state’s leading provider of emergency medical services, founded in 1975.
His legacy lives on through the many lives he touched and the medical community he helped shape.
Father & Son Medics Humanitarian Work - Haiti Devastation
In April 2010, Dr. Robert Realmuto, an emergency physician, and his 18-year-old son, Brandon, spent six days in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, volunteering in makeshift medical clinics. Brandon took patients’ vital signs and histories, then passed them to his father for treatment. While classmates vacationed, Brandon spent spring break doing triage by day and sleeping under a mosquito net on a classroom floor in Port-au-Prince.
The Realmutos joined a relief team with Quisqueya Crisis Relief, working in tent hospitals and remote villages with no access to care. “We brought our own medications and set up clinics from scratch,” Brandon recalled. They treated nearly 200 people in a day, many of whom had nothing to their name.
Robert was struck by the devastation. “No disaster ever decimated a health-care system like this,” he said. The lack of basic care cost lives. Brandon witnessed everything from grateful patients to the heartbreak of a gunshot victim they couldn’t save.
Despite the hardship, Brandon called it a life-changing experience. “It meant more than any vacation. I had fun—just a different kind.”.
ER Lobby Named for Rob — Honoring His Care and Commitment
What an incredible career of giving, leadership, friendship, and care to all you worked with…
You are incredibly well-respected and loved! You left an indelible mark and your legacy lives on…. You will be missed!