California’s 50 years of prehospital medicine
From EMS1 on July 14 by AAA Communications Chair Rob Lawrence
The history of our history: 50 years of prehospital medicine: A transatlantic tale of former army doctors, paramedic development, cardiac arrest survival, and Johnny and Roy
Fifty years ago, on July 15, 1970, then California Governor Ronald Reagan signed into law the Wedworth-Townsend Paramedic Act. The law created the conditions for the establishment of the first accredited paramedic training program in the United States.
The story of American paramedicine did not begin in California or even in the U.S., but in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The inspiration for this program came from World War II era British Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) Medical Officer, Professor Frank Pantridge, MD.