Life and EMS Go On

I first met Jim Page “in absentia” in 1976, when he published one of the early EMS classics, a book from Backdraft Publications titled The Paramedics. I use the term in absentia because I initially only met Jim Page through his writing. In particular, it was his writing about the Harvey Fire Department, which I was working for on the south side of Chicago. At the time, our city fathers were not being overly supportive, either in concept or in dollars, of our desire to upgrade the level of ambulance service we were providing to the citizens of Harvey. Our primary response unit was an aging International Harvester with an extended fiberglass cab, making it almost tall enough to actually provide patient care in. It had little equipment and we had little to offer, other than being an “Inhalator Squad.” As members of our rank and file worked to gain admission to the first couple of paramedic classes offered at Ingalls Hospital, members of our Women’s Auxiliary put together a plan for raising funds to purchase a new ambulance. Thanks to the generosity of the citizens we served and the hard work of the Auxiliary, more than $35,000 was raised in just 10 days, allowing us to purchase and equip a shiny new modular ambulance, which was donated to the city of Harvey. For that hard work and innovation, we carved a small niche in Jim’s book.

It was almost a decade later, in 1985, when I actually put together a name and a face with Jim. I was just beginning to speak at conferences, and I had the privilege of hearing Jim deliver one of his classic keynote addresses. I remember two unique aspects of that particular keynote address: the fact that he read it and the incredible message he delivered. In time, I came to write for his magazine and taught for his conference corporation for almost 10 years. Though many of us who knew and worked with Jim teased him about reading his keynote addresses, we all understood why he chose to do that. It certainly was not that he could not stand up in front of a large group and talk without notes. The fact was, Jim was a master wordsmith. He put incredible time, thought and energy into his presentations and wasn’t about to let chance change his message. He picked and chose his words carefully and wisely, because he truly understood the impact of his work. An erroneous statement to the 1,000 or more attendees who were hanging on every word could have a huge impact on how they provided care, or how they developed their EMS systems. Jim was not about to have that happen, so he put his thoughts to paper to ensure their accuracy.

As one of the true visionaries of our profession, Jim worked tirelessly to move us forward and make us better. Using what I would term a three-pronged approach, his writing, publications and teaching were a driv­ing force behind the evolution of EMS, rescue and the fire service.

Of course, his work consulting with Jack Webb on the television show Emergency! had a major impact on our fledgling profession as well, as week after week the public thrilled at the exploits of the two young paramedics, Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto. With each episode, “paramedic” became more of a commonly used household word and the term “ambulance driver” much less.

In a way, Jim was also our first historian. With his book The Paramedics, he chronicled our early years, as EMS made the quantum leap from being “ambulance attendants” or “ambulance drivers,” who worked primarily for funeral homes, to that of true healthcare professionals. He wrote about the early pioneers of our profession in the first EMS systems across America, as they worked tirelessly to turn their visions into real-life, quality street medicine. In his book The Magic of 3 A.M., which I consider one of the classic texts of our profession, he further documented the trials and tribulations, the battles against bureaucracy and, in general, the uphill battle to make prehospital medicine and EMS a true discipline.

Jim would again don the hat of historian and teacher with his work on the video The History of Modern EMS. With great insight and compassion, he narrated a fascinating journey from the “White Paper,” the TV show Emergency!, the skywalk collapse in Kansas City and many other watershed events in EMS through the concept of taking military medicine in Korea and Vietnam and applying the principles of mobile intensive care to the streets and roads across our county. With the same carefully chosen words, that dry, wry English sense of humor and his never-ending passion for our profession, Jim Page continued to have a positive impact, truly making a difference day after day, year after year.

Never content to simply maintain the status quo, Jim went back to school and obtained a law degree, venturing into yet another arena, while continuing to be a tireless champion for EMS, rescue and the fire service.

With his passing, one of the most important chapters in the history of EMS comes to a close. It is my hope that his work will live on and his name will be remembered by the students of tomorrow, who will sew the Star of Life on their uniforms and venture forth to become the next generation of caregivers to America’s citizens. Although we grieve the passing of a true EMS icon, the sun will rise tomorrow and life and EMS will go on. And in my heart, I believe that is how Jim Page would have wanted it.

Until next month…