Meet our founders.
We’re two Oklahoma emergency physicians who believe rural clinicians should have someone to call when a difficult case needs a second look.
Jaron Soulek, MD
Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Jaron Soulek is a board-certified emergency physician with deep roots in rural Oklahoma. He grew up on a farm and ranch in Nardin, Oklahoma, and graduated from high school in Blackwell. He values the close-knit communities, families, and churches that characterize the places he calls home.
He graduated summa cum laude from Oklahoma State University with a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, where he met his wife, Erin, who grew up in nearby Perry. He then attended the University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine and completed his emergency medicine residency at the University of Oklahoma, serving as chief resident.
Jaron continued at the University of Oklahoma as an attending physician and educator and later served as Associate Program Director before moving to Ascension St. John Medical Center in 2021.
At St. John, he served as Site Medical Director and then System Medical Director for Emergency Medicine across five Oklahoma hospitals. He continues to serve as Chairman of Emergency Medicine at Ascension St. John Medical Center and teaches emergency medicine residents and physician assistant students.
Jaron and his family live in the Tulsa area. They enjoy sports, camping, gardening, board games, puzzles, and attending First Methodist Church in Tulsa.
His central goal with CrossCheck is to improve the care rural Oklahomans receive during critical emergencies, especially the communities he calls “my people.”
Eric Engstrom, MD
Co-Founder
Dr. Eric Engstrom is a board-certified emergency physician and lifelong Oklahoman who is passionate about improving access to emergency care in rural communities.
Eric grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before attending John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. His time in a small college town, along with family connections to rural communities, gave him an appreciation for the close-knit relationships, slower pace of life, and emphasis on family that make small towns special.
He attended the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and completed his emergency medicine residency at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. He returned to Oklahoma in 2019 and has practiced emergency medicine at Ascension St. John Medical Center in Tulsa ever since.
Eric was drawn to emergency medicine by the opportunity to serve people who are suffering and need help, and by the variety of practical skills and knowledge the specialty requires.
His vision for CrossCheck grew from personal and professional experiences. When his two-year-old nephew experienced anaphylaxis at a rural Kansas emergency department, he saw how valuable immediate access to an experienced emergency physician could be. He also regularly receives calls from nurse practitioner friends seeking input on difficult cases and wanted to make that kind of support more widely available.
Eric and his wife are raising three boys in the Tulsa area. They enjoy state parks, tennis, riding bikes, and attending Immanuel Bible Church in Broken Arrow.
He hopes CrossCheck will help rural emergency departments provide safer, higher-quality care while giving local physicians and advanced practice providers the support they deserve.