Between a Stethoscope and a Gavel

In late 1959, a young firefighter candidate was given a welcome break from the “grinder”—an affectionate term for the training academy of the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD). The young firefighter had been told his “contractual duty is to fight fire”1 and had spent the prior weeks drilling on the techniques of the profession under the Southern California sun. However, today would be different. Instead of pulling hose and lifting ladders, his afternoon would be spent in a classroom taking a course called “first aid.” At best, the course was marginal; lasting less than two hours, it was wedged between lectures on “driver education” and “union benefits.”2 Page rose to the rank of Battalion Chief with the Los Angeles County Fire Department and served as a technical advisor for the hit TV series “Emergency!” which catapulted the paramedic concept worldwide. It was on this day in December 1959 that James Owen Page was introduced to LACoFD’s version of emergency medicine—a field that he would elevate from the periphery of firefighting to the forefront of American public service. Many recognize James O. Page’s work on the television show Emergency! and his foundation of JEMS as well as his efficacy for developing the field of paramedicine. However, the title of “Father of Modern EMS” was not easily granted to Page. It’s in the aspirations and trials of his often-forgotten early career that the winds of change began to blow for emerge...
Source: JEMS Special Topics - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Exclusive Articles Administration and Leadership Source Type: news