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 ill-
nesses 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 found-
ed to provide economic stimulation to the people of Pitts-
burgh, 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 cre-
ate 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 pa-
tients en route to hospitals; 
Whereas the paramedic training and ambulance design stand-
ards 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 
treatments for severe asthma attacks, tourniquets for un-
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•HRES 1042 IH 
controlled bleeding, and advanced resuscitation tech-
niques 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 emer-
gency 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) commends and recognizes the invaluable 
work and enduring legacy of the Freedom House 
Ambulance Service, their dedication to serving their 
community, and their contributions to prehospital 
emergency care; 
(2) acknowledges the vital role played by the 
Freedom House Ambulance Service in revolution-
izing prehospital emergency services and therefore 
saving countless lives; and 
(3) expresses sincere gratitude to each member 
of the Freedom House Ambulance Service for their 
unwavering commitment to community service and 
their remarkable contributions to the city of Pitts-
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•HRES 1042 IH 
burgh and prehospital emergency medical care 
across the country. 
Æ 
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