WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Freedom House Ambulance Services

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the Short Stuff. I'm Josh, and

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<v Speaker 1>there's Chuck and Dave Kustan the producers here in spirit,

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<v Speaker 1>but not really. He'll hear this eventually, and I'll bet

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<v Speaker 1>he just got a warm feeling from the shout out. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>And since I said all that, it's short stuff, so

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<v Speaker 1>let's go audios. Yeah, and you want to really mess

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<v Speaker 1>with people sense of time and space. Yes, I'm picking

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<v Speaker 1>Nica wafers out of my teeth as we record this.

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<v Speaker 1>That should be a little hint. I'm actually refraining from

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<v Speaker 1>eating one right now. Oh really, you're trying, but you

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<v Speaker 1>want to? I do. I kind of like to go

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<v Speaker 1>wafers now. I mean, I'm not crazy for him, but

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<v Speaker 1>I do like him. Chuck. All right, So this is um.

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<v Speaker 1>This is part of our Black History Month content, A

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<v Speaker 1>very cool story about the Freedom House Ambulance Service, which

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<v Speaker 1>you know we did. Did we do one on E

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<v Speaker 1>M T S or ambulances or what was the name

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<v Speaker 1>of that? Paramedics? We do one on paramedics. We've done

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<v Speaker 1>one on CPR, which is I think where Dr Peter

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<v Speaker 1>Safar's name. Sure, we've done one on medical stand ins.

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<v Speaker 1>I can't remember remember practice patients. Oh yeah, yeah, well,

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<v Speaker 1>I can't believe we did an episode on that. It's

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<v Speaker 1>like one of the most obscure things that exist. But

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<v Speaker 1>this one. I knew nothing about this, And then as

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<v Speaker 1>I was researching, I was like, oh, Visible did one.

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<v Speaker 1>They're basically like our our Simpsons did it to our

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<v Speaker 1>South Park. Basically. It's crazy. Romans always one step ahead

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<v Speaker 1>of it, he is. I was looking up the Mohave

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<v Speaker 1>phone booth. You ever heard of that? No, but I'm

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<v Speaker 1>sure Roman knows everything about it. He does. He does.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like, why even do a short stuff on it

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<v Speaker 1>now because there's Visible, But this one, I would say,

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<v Speaker 1>go listen to the Visible episode. I haven't heard it yet,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'm sure it's quite good. This is still worth

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<v Speaker 1>talking about here too. Yeah, and it also really highlights

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<v Speaker 1>our long motto w W R M D What would

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<v Speaker 1>Roman Mars do? That's right, he would talk about the

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<v Speaker 1>Freedom House ambul Services, which is one of the most

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<v Speaker 1>astounding origin stories I've ever heard in my entire life. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, it's pretty easy to think about the fact

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<v Speaker 1>that you call an ambulance today and someone's going to

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<v Speaker 1>show up that actually knows how to save your life. UM.

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<v Speaker 1>But it wasn't that long ago, as recently as fifty

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<v Speaker 1>years that ambulances were sort of like taxi vans that

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<v Speaker 1>would show up and drive you as fast as they

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<v Speaker 1>could to the hospital and hope that you weren't Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I hope that you wouldn't die. UM. And that changed

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<v Speaker 1>between UM nineteen sixty seven and nineteen seventy five, when

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<v Speaker 1>a low income neighborhood in Pittsburgh, the Hill District, launched

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<v Speaker 1>an ambulance service that actually featured trained, uh, gentlemen. They

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think there were any women as a part

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<v Speaker 1>of this first run, but trained gentlemen that could actually

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<v Speaker 1>help save your life before and as they took you

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<v Speaker 1>to the hospital. Yes. So like the the history of

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<v Speaker 1>e m t s, of paramedics, of emergency medical services,

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<v Speaker 1>of this idea of an ambulance staffed with people who

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<v Speaker 1>knew how to UM, to perform life saving procedures and

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<v Speaker 1>had equipment in their car that could help them perform

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<v Speaker 1>life saving procedures started out in a traditionally black, low

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<v Speaker 1>income community in Pittsburgh, and the first c m t

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<v Speaker 1>s were young members of this community. That's where it

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<v Speaker 1>all came from. Everything we understand about paramedics today that

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<v Speaker 1>had nothing to do with military UM medicine came from this,

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<v Speaker 1>which I just am astounded by. I think it's so cool,

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<v Speaker 1>it's awesome. Uh and also like terrible that we didn't

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<v Speaker 1>even know about this when we did the the E. M.

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<v Speaker 1>T episode. I thought so too, Like that's how little

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<v Speaker 1>known it is, so even we hadn't heard of it.

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<v Speaker 1>Ure Roman new Yeah, of course, uh so in nineties,

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<v Speaker 1>Like he probably listened to that episode and was like,

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<v Speaker 1>that's weird that the guys didn't talk about the Freedom House.

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<v Speaker 1>He was probably more like, what do I even listen

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<v Speaker 1>to these two? I don't think he does it anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>Um So. Pittsburgh Hills Hill District in the nineteen sixties

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<v Speaker 1>was a place where if you and this is just

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<v Speaker 1>like so many African American communities back then and even

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<v Speaker 1>still today, if you called an ambulance you were lucky

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<v Speaker 1>if one came at all, much less on time. And

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<v Speaker 1>in ninety seven the Freedom House Enterprises opened up. It

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<v Speaker 1>was a community agency. They focused on employment, trying to

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<v Speaker 1>raise employment, trying to get voting rights UM installed. And

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<v Speaker 1>this sort of dovetailed with a guy named Phil Holland,

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<v Speaker 1>who was a social reformer there, and he was like,

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<v Speaker 1>this is this is unacceptable that we don't have a

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<v Speaker 1>reliable ambulance service in this community and we have all

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<v Speaker 1>these guys around that people are saying aren't employable at all,

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<v Speaker 1>and why don't we get them and train them up

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<v Speaker 1>and put them in these vans? Yeah, which again like

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<v Speaker 1>this isn't just some guy being like, oh, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it would be cool as if we staffed to paramedics

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<v Speaker 1>service um from members of the community to serve this

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<v Speaker 1>you know, under service community or underserved community. It's totally different.

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<v Speaker 1>Um the like. He also created paramedics out of out

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<v Speaker 1>of thin Air too. It was like a two part

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<v Speaker 1>creation and luckily for this whole project, there was an

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<v Speaker 1>anesthesiologists from Austria named Dr Peter Safar, who again has

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<v Speaker 1>probably made multiple appearances in some of these episodes, but

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<v Speaker 1>he's the guy basically who created the concept of civilian

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<v Speaker 1>paramedics out of thin Air. He he said, look, we

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<v Speaker 1>need to figure out how to take these life saving

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<v Speaker 1>procedures that we perform in the e er that actually

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<v Speaker 1>work and get them out into the streets and ideally

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<v Speaker 1>into the ambulances so that you're not just sitting laying

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<v Speaker 1>there hoping that you get to the e R before

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<v Speaker 1>you die, Like they're actually working on you as you're

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<v Speaker 1>making your way to the e R. So him combined

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<v Speaker 1>with this idea to create this paramedic service in the

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<v Speaker 1>Hill District, combined to create the Freedom House Ambulance Service.

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<v Speaker 1>And again they picked from the community, the local community

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<v Speaker 1>to serve their own community. I think this is so cool.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, let's take a break, okay, and we'll be

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<v Speaker 1>back right after this. Alright. So Dr Peter Safar, Peter

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<v Speaker 1>Peter Safar has said, hey, CPR is not that difficult.

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<v Speaker 1>We like, we should teach people to do this stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>He's like, eventually it's going to be a song called

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<v Speaker 1>Staying Alive. It's gonna make it even easier. That's right. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>there was a man um there's a man named Gene

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<v Speaker 1>star Zinsky, Pittsburgh native and former paramedic, who directed a

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<v Speaker 1>documentary about ten or eleven years ago called Freedom House

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<v Speaker 1>Colin Street Saviors, and he said that these, uh, these

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<v Speaker 1>guys that they got off the streets were like some

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<v Speaker 1>of them were drug addicts, some of them were veterans

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<v Speaker 1>War veterans who maybe had a little bit of medic training,

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<v Speaker 1>but a lot of them were guys that were struggling

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<v Speaker 1>on the streets to get by and this was a

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<v Speaker 1>chance to to get like a real and not only

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<v Speaker 1>a job that like that actually paid a good you know,

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<v Speaker 1>a decent wage, a living wage, but a job that

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<v Speaker 1>actually had a real impact on the community. Yeah. So

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<v Speaker 1>like a guy named George McCarry UM. He was twenty

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<v Speaker 1>at the time, and his grandma said, look, you either

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<v Speaker 1>need to get a job or go to school, or

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<v Speaker 1>you have to leave. You just can't. There's no free

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<v Speaker 1>ride here longer. UM. And he had heard about the

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<v Speaker 1>Freedom Freedom House UM and that they were looking for

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<v Speaker 1>volunteers UM or employees I guess is what what they

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<v Speaker 1>would be called UM. And he didn't even know it

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<v Speaker 1>was for medical services. He he just knew that they

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<v Speaker 1>were looking to hire people. So he went down UH

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<v Speaker 1>and showed up and started getting trained UM. And the

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<v Speaker 1>way that he he described it as it was like

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<v Speaker 1>a real genuine ragtag group at first, but under the

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<v Speaker 1>guidance of Dr safar Um and this kind of vision

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<v Speaker 1>towards creating paramedics, like these guys were trained in life

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<v Speaker 1>saving procedures. They went from like zero to you know,

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<v Speaker 1>life savers over the course of you know, basically a

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<v Speaker 1>first year Dr. Safar created a h orientation course that

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<v Speaker 1>lasted a year, required a hundred and sixty hours of

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<v Speaker 1>hands on training, took him to the Morgue to see autopsies,

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<v Speaker 1>had them basically assist in operating rooms in the E.

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<v Speaker 1>R Department to give them like real world, UM experience

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<v Speaker 1>in this. Yeah, they had to train for six weeks

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<v Speaker 1>in hospitals, in the emergency room and operating rooms. I

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<v Speaker 1>see you. There was another man named John Moon as

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<v Speaker 1>another great example of someone who um really really flourished

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<v Speaker 1>in this new role. Uh. He said that he was

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<v Speaker 1>kind of turned on by the glamor of it all. Yeah. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean it was I think it was sort of

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<v Speaker 1>a I don't know, it was prestige the right word.

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<v Speaker 1>I got the impression big time. I think, um, John

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<v Speaker 1>Moon in particular, was like he would notice like the

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<v Speaker 1>the ambulance kind of drive him by, and I get

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<v Speaker 1>the impression that the the this uh Freedom House Ambulance

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<v Speaker 1>Service had a really golden reputation in the community and

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<v Speaker 1>they were kind of viewed as you know um, everyday

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<v Speaker 1>heroes in the community. So I would guess there was

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<v Speaker 1>definitely a lot of aspiration for for people or inspiration

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<v Speaker 1>maybe both. One of the bad or sad things about

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<v Speaker 1>it all is, even though there were cases where patients

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<v Speaker 1>were saved by CPR, there was one call where they

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<v Speaker 1>actually had to intubate a patient where they you know,

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<v Speaker 1>put that tube down the throat to get someone breathing again. UM.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of times the emergency room was like, oh

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<v Speaker 1>my god, this is amazing that you did this, But

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of times they actually weren't welcome um, and

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<v Speaker 1>they were looked at as sort of like, you guys

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<v Speaker 1>are just drivers, You are not doctors or nurses. You

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<v Speaker 1>shouldn't be getting involved. This was and I'm not defending them,

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<v Speaker 1>but this is sort of before that was a real thing.

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<v Speaker 1>So I'm sure they were like, what is going on.

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<v Speaker 1>You can't have these guys that you pull off the

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<v Speaker 1>street actually getting involved in our business. Yeah, and I

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<v Speaker 1>think like, um, the ambulance drivers would be like, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm okay, you're gonna re intubate them, and they would say, no,

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<v Speaker 1>this is good. Actually it's pretty good. But that so

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<v Speaker 1>there does seem to be like, um, just like there

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<v Speaker 1>isn't like a restaurant where the back of the house

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<v Speaker 1>in the front of the house, there's always tension like that,

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<v Speaker 1>or whenever somebody's stepping on somebody else's turf, like a

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<v Speaker 1>basil Brown versus the British Museum kind of thing. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>there there's going to be resentment and mistreatment, especially if

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<v Speaker 1>the people are from a lower socioeconomic class or a

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<v Speaker 1>racial minority, They're gonna get mistreated. But it seems like overall,

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<v Speaker 1>especially in the Hill District, these guys were viewed rightly

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<v Speaker 1>so as heroes. So as with just about any um

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<v Speaker 1>story in American history where um, Black Americans or any

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<v Speaker 1>minority groups, as they take matters into their own hands

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<v Speaker 1>and and become successful at it, I think gets taken

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<v Speaker 1>away from them and broadcast onto the larger community at

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<v Speaker 1>their expense. Usually. Yeah, And this happened in the form

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<v Speaker 1>of uh saving a boy who was hit by a bus.

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<v Speaker 1>It was in a more affluent area. The ambulance was

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<v Speaker 1>called there from the Freedom House, and um they basically

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<v Speaker 1>I mean they helped us get out, They splinted his leg,

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<v Speaker 1>They started in an I V word got around and

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<v Speaker 1>then these white residents in the more affluent neighborhoods were like,

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<v Speaker 1>this is amazing. You know. They weren't like, wait a minute,

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<v Speaker 1>why were these African Americans like treating my son. They're like,

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<v Speaker 1>this is amazing. They did a great job. We want

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<v Speaker 1>our own services like that in our neighborhood to the

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<v Speaker 1>Hill District shouldn't be the only one getting this. And

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<v Speaker 1>so the city of Pittsburgh said, yeah, you know what,

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<v Speaker 1>you're right, we should have the citywide. We're gonna launch

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<v Speaker 1>our own service. It's it's overdue. Um. The really bad

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<v Speaker 1>part about all this, I think you probably see where

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<v Speaker 1>this is going, is it cut off the contract with

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<v Speaker 1>Freedom House. They lost most of their funding because now

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<v Speaker 1>it was this big, official city program, and they had

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<v Speaker 1>the nerve to tell the Freedom House workers, hey, you

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<v Speaker 1>can still for us. You've been doing this for a

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<v Speaker 1>while now and you're super trained, but you've gotta go

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<v Speaker 1>back and get retrained by our criteria. Yeah, despite all

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<v Speaker 1>of the experience, years and years and years of experience.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, these these guys were working from and this

0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:16.479
<v Speaker 1>happened in ve you had to go back and retrain

0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:19.480
<v Speaker 1>even though you're the original paramedics that all this is

0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:23.520
<v Speaker 1>based on and and Freedom House losing its contract with

0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:26.600
<v Speaker 1>the city was a little more insidious than that. UM.

0:13:26.640 --> 0:13:29.839
<v Speaker 1>From what I saw, there was a mayor named Joe Flaherty,

0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:32.560
<v Speaker 1>and he always kind of balked at the idea of

0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:35.880
<v Speaker 1>funding Freedom House. But when he got the opportunity to,

0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:39.280
<v Speaker 1>when UM, more affluent and more white neighborhood said they

0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:41.440
<v Speaker 1>want their own and they created a city wide e

0:13:41.559 --> 0:13:44.920
<v Speaker 1>M S Service. UM, to him, that meant seizing the

0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:49.240
<v Speaker 1>assets of Freedom House, freezing any funds going their way,

0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:52.200
<v Speaker 1>and then using those funds and those assets to create

0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:57.000
<v Speaker 1>this larger citywide version. Rather than just increasing the funding

0:13:57.160 --> 0:14:00.920
<v Speaker 1>and widening the jurisdiction of Free Him House, who were

0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:02.840
<v Speaker 1>already good at it and knew what they were doing,

0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:05.760
<v Speaker 1>he shut it down and started up basically a white

0:14:05.880 --> 0:14:08.880
<v Speaker 1>version of it. That's right, not to be confused with

0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:14.520
<v Speaker 1>SETV Great Joe Flaherty and and Freaks and Geeks Father

0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:17.800
<v Speaker 1>beloved Freaks and Geeks. Father Joe Flaherty so great, and

0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:20.920
<v Speaker 1>he was the crazy guy and Happy Gilmore who used

0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:25.520
<v Speaker 1>their heckle happy uh So the end of the Freedom

0:14:25.560 --> 0:14:29.120
<v Speaker 1>House was very sad, but UM some of these workers

0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:31.640
<v Speaker 1>did end up working for a long time and have

0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:35.000
<v Speaker 1>really long careers with the City of Pittsburgh and their

0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:39.200
<v Speaker 1>official service. John Moon, who we referenced earlier UM worked

0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:41.560
<v Speaker 1>for thirty five years in the e M S Department,

0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:45.480
<v Speaker 1>eventually was assistant chief before he retired in two thousand nine.

0:14:46.000 --> 0:14:48.360
<v Speaker 1>There was another man named Mitchell Brown. He was an

0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:51.840
<v Speaker 1>e MS commissioner in Cleveland, Ohio, and then ran the

0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.840
<v Speaker 1>Department of Public Safety in Columbus, Ohio, all because of

0:14:54.880 --> 0:14:57.160
<v Speaker 1>his start at the Freedom House. An't that cool? I mean,

0:14:57.200 --> 0:14:59.680
<v Speaker 1>these guys were just like hanging around looking for jobs,

0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:02.080
<v Speaker 1>and all of a sudden, you know, decades later, they

0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:05.160
<v Speaker 1>have enough experience that they're running public safety in an

0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:08.200
<v Speaker 1>entire city. That's just so cool to me. Yeah, And

0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:13.080
<v Speaker 1>because it's so little known, Pittsburgh finally has installed a

0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:17.000
<v Speaker 1>couple of plaques commemorating their work UM one in the

0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:20.240
<v Speaker 1>actual Hill District and one in the Presbyterian University Hospital.

0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:24.080
<v Speaker 1>And then Moon, who we mentioned um, He lobbied for

0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:27.120
<v Speaker 1>a long time and was finally successful in getting Freedom

0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:29.760
<v Speaker 1>House Medallion's placed on the side of every ambulance in

0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:32.200
<v Speaker 1>the city of Pittsburgh, which is pretty cool. And there

0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:35.680
<v Speaker 1>was there was a woman involved. Her name was Nancy Caroline.

0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:39.600
<v Speaker 1>She took over from so far for oversight of the

0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:44.480
<v Speaker 1>ambulance service the Freedom House Ambulance UH in three and

0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:49.400
<v Speaker 1>apparently lived eight and breathed Freedom House Ambulance Services. So

0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:53.200
<v Speaker 1>I love it? Yeah? Uh, you got anything else? And

0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:57.600
<v Speaker 1>nothing else? Just Roman Mars. That's right. Well, then I

0:15:57.680 --> 0:16:06.680
<v Speaker 1>have one thing to say out. I like the orange one.

0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:10.560
<v Speaker 1>Stuff you should know is a production of I Heart Radio.

0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:13.400
<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart

0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:16.120
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