In 1966 "The White Paper" was published, officially known as "Accidental Death and Disability: The Neglected Disease of Modern Society.” At the time of publication there was no EMS system with formal training and Paramedics didn't exist. In many parts of the United States, if you needed to get to the hospital, you would go in a police car or a funeral home hearse. There was no treatment occurring, which resulted in low survival probability.
In stark contrast, when a solider was injured in Vietnam, a set of events would be triggered, resulting in a increase chance of survival. First, fellow soldiers would start treatment such as bleeding control, while calling for help with a radio. This was the soldiers version of 911, next a helicopter would fly in to pickup the injured. These helicopters or medivac's, would be known as "Dustoff" on the radio, could get you to a field hospital in minutes. You now had a flying ambulance that would treat and transport the injured.
As a result of all the advances in combat medicine, it was said that you had a better chance of survival in Vietnam then you did in a car accident in the United States. This call to action that was started with the "White Paper" resulted in several pilot programs of "Paramedics" around the country.
One of these pilot programs ended up being a featured TV show called "Emergency" which first aired on January 22nd, 1972. In the series, the general public would get their first look at Paramedics working in LA County and how they could save your life.
COZI TV, did a show on Emergency, titled "EMERGENCY! 50! The Show that Saved Your Life". Most in EMS today would save if one thing had the biggest impact on EMS in the United States, it was the TV show Emergency. This show was a catalyst for change, that is still being felt today.
Now 50 years later, we need to start a new phase in EMS and start to fix all the things that have not been working. Recently I heard a Paramedic say that we are a victim of our own success. We taught the public to call 911 when they need assistance and that someone would take them to the hospital. However as our population grows, so does the demand on the EMS system. The public now calls 911 for all their needs and we need to get back to a point where 911 is only used for life threatening emergencies. We don't have enough paramedics to respond to all the requests and this show in the increased response times around the country.
You don't always need an ambulance, sometimes you just need a doctors visit and an urgent care might be the answer.
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