Until the 1970s\, if you suffered a medica l crisis\, your chances of survival were minimal. A 9-1-1 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 America&rsquo\;s first paramedics and set the gold standard for emergency medicine around the world\, only to have their story and their legacy erased&mdash\;until now.
\nIn \;American Sirens\, \;acclaimed journalist and par amedic Kevin Hazzard tells the dramatic story of how a group of young\, un dereducated Black men forged a new frontier of healthcare. He follows a ri ch cast of characters that includes John Moon\, an orphan who found his ca lling as a paramedic\; Peter Safar\, the Nobel Prize-nominated physician w ho 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 racis m&mdash\;from the community\, the police\, and the government. Their job w as grueling\, the rules made up as they went along\, their mandate nearly impossible&mdash\;and yet despite the long odds and fierce opposition\, th ey succeeded spectacularly. Never-before revealed in full\, this is a rich and troubling hidden history of the Black origins of America&rsquo\;s par amedics\, 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. \;
\nKevin Hazzard is a journalist\, TV writer\, and former paramedic. His first book\, \;A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic &rsquo\;s Wild Ride to the Edge and Back\, was published in 2016. He now w rites for film and TV\, with work produced by Hulu\, CBS\, ABC\, and Unive rsal. His journalism has been published at 99% Invisible\, the Atavist\, M en&rsquo\;s Journal\, Creative Loafing\, Atlanta Magazine\, and elsewhere. He does medical relief work through Global Response Medicine and is a sou ght-after voice on emergency medicine. He lives in Atlanta.
\nThis p rogram is in partnership with Wilmington Memorial Library. \;
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