40th Anniversary of Seattle Medic One
Seattle Medic one Celebrates 40 years of Saving Lives
Forty years ago, visionaries Dr. Leonard Cobb and the late Seattle
Fire Chief Gordon Vickery founded the Medic One Program, making Seattle
a pioneer in bringing lifesaving emergency medical techniques to the
streets. Their work changed the face of emergency medicine, and today,
the Medic One Program has become the standard around the world for
paramedic training and first rate pre-hospital emergency care for
cardiac arrest.
An event to celebrate the anniversary and the history of Medic One was
recently held at Harborview Medical Center’s Research and Training
Auditorium. Special guest speakers included Dr. Cobb and Medic One’s
Medical Director, Dr. Michael Copass. Members of the first three
paramedic classes also attended.
The Medic One Program began in 1969 when a group of ten Seattle
Firefighters were trained as Paramedics in partnership with Harborview
Medical Center and the University of Washington. The Medic One program
has since expanded to encompass King, Kitsap and Snohomish Counties.
Today, Medic One provides citizens with Advanced Life Support (ALS)
treatment that, in the past, could only be performed by licensed
physicians. In 2007, in Seattle and King County, firefighters and
paramedics responded to a total of 172,502 emergency medical calls. Over
51,000 of those responses required ALS treatment by paramedics.