IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1042 

Recognizing the historical contributions and value of the Freedom House 

Ambulance Service. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 29, 2024 

Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania (for herself, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. DELUZIO, Ms. LEE

of California, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. 

JACKSON LEE, and Ms. WILD) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the historical contributions and value of the 

Freedom House Ambulance Service. 

Whereas the Freedom House Ambulance Service was the first 

emergency medical service in the United States to be 

staffed by paramedics with medical training beyond basic 

first aid; 

Whereas, prior to the mid-1960s, ambulance service in the 

United States was typically provided by either the police 

or a local funeral home; 

Whereas these services offered little more than transportation 

and people were dying unnecessarily from treatable illnesses and injuries due to a stark lack of prehospital 

care; 


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•HRES 1042 IH 

Whereas, in 1966, the Freedom House Enterprise was founded to provide economic stimulation to the people of Pittsburgh, and specifically those in the predominantly Black 

Hill District, where a majority of the residents fell well 

below the poverty line; 

Whereas the goal of Freedom House Enterprises was to create job training and employment opportunities for those 

in the area and to provide an opportunity for those 

deemed ‘‘unemployable’’ by the city welfare offices to 

train and work in the city; 

Whereas, in 1967, Freedom House Enterprises started an 

ambulance service under the supervision of Dr. Peter 

Safar, Dr. Dawn Benson, and Dr. Nancy Caroline; 

Whereas 24 Black men from the Hill District underwent 

training to become part of the ambulance team; 

Whereas this team was later expanded to include both Black 

men and Black women; 

Whereas Freedom House Ambulance Service broke medical 

ground by training its personnel to conduct previously 

unheard of standards of emergency medical care for patients en route to hospitals; 

Whereas the paramedic training and ambulance design standards pioneered in the Freedom House Ambulance Service 

would set the standard for prehospital emergency care 

nationally and even internationally; 

Whereas Freedom House Paramedic Chief John Moon was 

the first nonphysician to perform an endotracheal 

intubation in the field; 

Whereas the emergency medical services agency would also 

incorporate many other lifesaving procedures, including 

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•HRES 1042 IH 

controlled bleeding, and advanced resuscitation techniques for individuals in cardiac arrest; 

Whereas Freedom House Ambulance Service was ended in 

1975 when a newly elected mayor bent to pressure from 

the wealthier, White neighborhoods when they questioned 

why they were receiving inadequate prehospital emergency care compared to low-income, predominantly Black 

neighborhoods who were receiving state-of-the-art 

prehospital emergency care; and 

Whereas Freedom House Ambulance Service saved countless 

lives in Pittsburgh’s most underserved neighborhoods and 

served as the blueprint for the Nation’s first prehospital 

care textbook and the first set of national standards for 

emergency medical services: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) commends and recognizes the invaluable 

3 work and enduring legacy of the Freedom House 

4 Ambulance Service, their dedication to serving their 

5 community, and their contributions to prehospital 

6 emergency care; 

7 (2) acknowledges the vital role played by the 

8 Freedom House Ambulance Service in revolution9 izing prehospital emergency services and therefore 

10 saving countless lives; and 

11 (3) expresses sincere gratitude to each member 

12 of the Freedom House Ambulance Service for their 

13 unwavering commitment to community service and 

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•HRES 1042 IH 

1 burgh and prehospital emergency medical care 

2 across the country. 

Æ 


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