Medic One becomes the nation's first mobile program for pre-hospital emergency care.
In the late 1960s, Dr. Leonard Cobb, a cardiologist at UW Medicine’s Harborview Medical Center, knew that if properly trained, Seattle Fire Department (SFD) first responders could administer life-saving procedures in the field. In 1969, 15 SFD firefighters received classroom and hospital-based hands-on training in life-saving emergency procedures. The recruits learned coronary care basics, including rhythm recognition, intra-cardiac injection, intubation, and defibrillator use. Medic One and the modern paramedic training program was born. Before long, patients who were clinically dead in the field were being successfully resuscitated and treated before transport to the hospital. Later, Medic One was expanded to provide care for trauma, poisoning, stroke, and other medical emergencies. Today, the program is a worldwide model for communities who want to deliver the very best pre-hospital care.