Description
The extraordinary story of an unjustly forgotten group of Black men in Pittsburgh who became the first paramedics in America saving lives and changing the course of emergency medicine around the world
Until the 1970s if you suffered a medical crisis your chances of survival were minimal A 911 call might bring police or even the local funeral home But that all changed with Freedom House EMS in Pittsburgh a group of Black men who became Americas first paramedics and set the gold standard for emergency medicine around the world only to have their story and their legacy eraseduntil now
In American Sirens acclaimed journalist and paramedic Kevin Hazzard tells the dramatic story of how a group of young undereducated Black men forged a new frontier of healthcare He follows a rich cast of characters that includes John Moon an orphan who found his calling as a paramedic Peter Safar the Nobel Prizenominated physician who invented CPR and realized his vision for a trained ambulance service and Nancy Caroline the idealistic young doctor who turned a scrappy team into an international leader At every turn Freedom House battled racismfrom the community the police and the government Their job was grueling the rules made up as they went along their mandate nearly impossibleand yet despite the long odds and fierce opposition they succeeded spectacularly Neverbefore revealed in full this is a rich and troubling hidden history of the Black origins of Americas paramedics a special band of dedicated essential workers who stand ready to serve day and night on the line between life and death for every one of us
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