Kari Dickerson and the Freedom House Paramedics

It’s Friday night in the summer of 1972 and a new NBC show called “Emergency!” captivates Americans with the idea of little half trained Doctors called “Paramedics” treating patients before taking them to the hospital. For decades we were told they were the first, the OG, the father’s of modern EMS.

But did you know they weren’t even close to the first?

This week we invite EMS educator, Paramedic and historian Kari Dickerson to discuss the Freedom House Paramedic program launched in 1967, a full 5 years ahead of those Hollywood fellas out west.

Freedom House trained 25 men and women, all African American, to serve the Hill community in Pittsburgh, PA since local authorities were not sending resources into this community of color.

After all, it isn’t like 1967 was a troubling time to talk about, right? Smack dab in the middle of the Civil Rights movement a community came together to help their own and, in doing so, changed countless lives and saving, arguably, millions.

Have you met the first Cop? The first Firefighter? Of course not, those tasks have been around for hundreds of years. Our guest this week has met the First Paramedics and that’s just amazing.

You can learn more about Freedom House HERE and get involved in sharing the story.

This week, we cover:

• How shaking Setla’s hand means you are an EMS OG
• That EMS was born out of the battlefields of Korea and Vietnam
• Why Freedom House existed and how they got into the ambulance business
• Learn your history, share it. It matters.

BOLO:

Kevin Hazzard American Sirens

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