BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Black History Month 2024 celebrates the Freedom House Ambulance Service, the first emergency medical service in the United States to be staffed by paramedics with medical training beyond basic first aid. Founded in 1967 in Pittsburgh's Hill District, the service was staffed entirely by Black men and women. Freedom House created the blueprint for modern day EMS and many of its practices remain in use to this day.

OPENING RECEPTION:  Thursday, February 1, 2024 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Grand Lobby, City-County Building, Downtown Pittsburgh -- PUBLIC INVITED TO ATTEND

BLACK HISTORY MONTH DISPLAY:  February 1 - 29, Grand Lobby, City-County Building, Downtown Pittsburgh

ONLINE CONTENT:  February 1 - 29, follow us on Facebook and Twitter for digital content including interviews, photos and memorabilia throughout the month of February

FREEDOM HOUSE AMBULANCE SERVICE – THE NATION’S FIRST PARAMEDIC TEAM

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.

This innovative concept of “Mobile Intensive Care” sought to work in collaboration with a local anti-poverty initiative, whose goals included the recruitment of unemployed African-American men and women from Pittsburgh’s Hill District, who would serve as Freedom House attendants.

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 “Father of CPR” and in Pittsburgh, the “Father of Paramedic Training.”