Conversation with American Sirens Author Kevin Hazzard on the Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America’s First Paramedics

Kevin Hazzard is a journalist, TV writer, and former paramedic who has written an essential book – American Sirens – chronicling the often overlooked and unknown origins of the paramedic profession.

The story begins in 1968 when twenty-four Black men in Pittsburgh started a revolution in emergency medicine. They were the first to show that medicine could be practiced in the back of an ambulance … and that lives could be saved by professionalizing medical transport.

They were the world’s first paramedics. And until Kevin’s book, they were largely erased from history.

Join Dr. George Hatch for an intimate conversation with Kevin Hazzard, where they discuss the importance of those early days, including the long odds and fierce opposition the early paramedics faced in the waning years of the civil rights era. And they will consider the implications of our shared history for the future of emergency medicine. This is one webinar you will not want to miss.