Morning Wash ~ Medic One (M10)

3/4/2014 ~ Morning Wash ~ Medic One (M10) ~ Seattle Fire Department @ Harborview Medical Center, First Hill Neighborhood, Seattle, WA

Every morning going to work I see the EMT's washing the Emergency Response Vehicles. A few of the Medic One vehicles are located at Harborview Medical Center while others are located at Fire Stations around Seattle and King County. Information regarding the Medic One and EMT training can be found here.

The Seattle visionaries who founded the Medic One program in the late 1960’s believed that bringing an advanced life support system right into the home of a heart attack victim could improve the chances of survival with early pre-hospital intervention. These visionaries were the late Gordon Vickery, Chief of the Seattle Fire Department, and Dr. Leonard A. Cobb, a University of Washington cardiologist.

Dr. Michael K. Copass is the Medical Director of Seattle Medic One and Director of the Medic One Paramedic Training Program. He served as Director of Emergency Services at Harborview Medical Center for 35 years, retiring in 2008.

In most cities, trainees have an average of 200 patient contacts before receiving paramedic certification. The average Medic One trainee has 700 patient contacts.

“This Medic One program is the model for much of the world,” says Dr. Copass. “We regularly host visitors from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Chile, Italy, Switzerland, France and many other countries. City leaders hear about Medic One and want to recreate a similar program where they live.”