EMS Pioneers To Be Honored in Los Angeles

Traveling the country, speaking about the history of paramedics and the people whose vision changed the face of emergency medicine, actor and fire service and EMS advocate Randolph Mantooth has noticed a disturbing trend: Many of the younger EMS professionals have little to no knowledge of EMS history, and even less interest in preserving it. As a result, Mantooth, who portrayed LA County firefighter/paramedic Johnny Gage in the 1970s TV series Emergency!, has become a man with a mission: To keep the history of paramedicine alive and to tell the story of the journey of EMS in America.

On May 8, 2010, the County of Los Angeles Fire Museum Board of Directors will host the Inaugural Pioneers of Paramedicine Lifetime Achievement Awards Gala, honoring four of the doctors who conceived the paramedic idea and were present at the "birth" of modern EMS. The day before the gala, they will sit down together for the first time in decades to share their stories on video. The video, the first in a planned series of "Pioneers" videos, says Mantooth, the museum's honorary chair, will be of significant historic importance to the EMS profession.

The 2010 honorees will be present on May 8 to accept their awards:

Eugene Nagel, MD, who was medical director for the City of Miami (FL) Fire Department's rescue operation from 1964 until 1974. During those 10 years, he developed the first paramedic program utilizing telemetry and voice medical control rather than the practice of a physician or nurse riding with the paramedics.

Leonard Cobb, MD, who became the director of cardiology at Harborview Medical Center in 1963 and a professor of medicine in 1971. He worked in collaboration with the Seattle fire chief and others to establish the first paramedic-staffed mobile intensive care unit in Seattle.

J. Michael Criley, MD, who was chief of the Division of Cardiology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles for 20 years. He founded the Los Angeles County Paramedic Program in 1969. He has been on the full-time faculty at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for 42 years and is Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Radiological Sciences at the UCLA School of Medicine.

Walter Graf, MD, who was a cardiologist at Daniel Freeman Hospital in Los Angeles, and a strong proponent of a mobile care unit for Los Angeles. With grant funds provided by the local chapter of the American Heart Association, he launched a Mobile Coronary Care Unit based on the Pantridge model in 1969--a fully equipped vehicle staffed by nurses who were empowered to start intravenous infusions, administer drugs and defibrillate.

For information and to register to attend the May 8 gala dinner and fundraiser, go to: www.PioneersofParamedicine.org.