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WHEREAS, in 1967, The Hill District-based, Freedom House Ambulance Service was established as the first Mobile Intensive Care unit in the Country with personnel trained in Advanced Life Support, thereby paving the way for a new professional-"The Paramedic"; and,
WHEREAS, this innovative concept of "Mobile Intensive Care" sought to work in collaboration with a local antipoverty initiative, whose goals included the recruitment of unemployed African-American men and women from Pittsburgh's Northside and Hill District, who would serve as Freedom House attendants; and,
WHEREAS, the Freedom House attendants were trained by the late Dr. Peter Safar, a University of Pittsburgh Anesthesiologist and medical visionary, who developed a method of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, thereby earning Dr. Safar the titles of the "Father of CPR" and in Pittsburgh, the "Father of Paramedic Training" ; and,
WHEREAS, marking the anniversary month in which Freedom House Ambulance Service answered it last detail and merged with the City of Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby wish to recognize the life-saving work of the Freedom House Ambulance Service, the nation's first Paramedic team; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh in conjunction with the Fraternal Association of Professional Paramedics (FAPP) do hereby declare Tuesday, October 12, 2010 to be "Freedom House Ambulance Service Recognition Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.