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In Memoriam: Leo R. Schwartz
EMS lost a true friend and advocate on January 14, when retired Marine Lt. Colonel Leo R. Schwartz succumbed to complications from leukemia, COPD and emphysema at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.
Leo was a dedicated family man, Scoutmaster and Little League coach, and was completely devoted to his EMS responsibilities.
"We were joking last night that the word around our house when we were growing up was 'specifications,'" recalls Leo's daughter, Marie Hamill. "We even got him a shirt one year that said, 'Ask me about my specifications.' He had that logo (Star of Life) all over the place, and we used to joke that EMS were my mom's initials-Eleanor Marian Schwartz. There will even be two ambulances outside the church during the funeral because, during the eulogy, reference will be made to the Star of Life."
Leo was born on a farm near Sargent, NE, graduated from high school in Merna, NE, then attended the University of Nebraska and one semester at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, before he was called to active duty with the Marine Corps during World War II. He returned to the University of Nebraska after the war, where he received BA and MA degrees, then was recalled to active duty for service in the Korean War. During a variety of duty assignments, he was involved in logistics planning, operations and analysis at all command staff levels. Included in this background, a major portion of time was devoted to medical service planning and administration involving the establishment and provision of medical care to the sick and wounded, as well as their evacuation, rehabilitation and transfer. He retired in 1968 at the rank of Lt. Colonel.
"A couple of things inspired Dad to go into EMS," says Marie Hamill. "I was born during a blizzard in 1957, and the ambulance had trouble getting to the house. Dad saw a problem with that.
"Another time, Mom was hemorrhaging in the back of an ambulance when the driver decided to take a detour around a 135-car freight train and got stuck. Again, Dad said, 'There's gotta be a better way.' So when the job opened up in the EMS Division at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, he thought, 'This is a place where I can make a difference.' That was his introduction to EMS."
From 1968–1969, Leo was employed by the George Washington University Medical Center in the capacity of research coordinator. In 1969, he was hired by the EMS Division of the Highway Safety Bureau (now NHTSA) of the Department of Transportation. He is credited with initiating the NHTSA/EMS program planning manual that became the foundation for DOT development of all the system components: administration, training, transportation and communications. He developed the training curricula for EMTs, as well as specifications for today's ambulances and the lifesaving equipment they carry. He also researched and designed the Star of Life symbol.
"At one time, Leo affixed to each of the six points of the Star of Life a label signifying elements of EMS, like transportation, education, communication, and so on," says long-time friend and colleague Rocco Morando. "Training was a hallmark of his career, and he made sure the DOT money was spent in the right direction and fostered many of the training initiatives.
"I was one of the founders of NAEMT and the founder and executive director of the National Registry, so Leo and I were involved in many of the same meetings. In the early days of EMS, there were a lot of controversial issues and people, so many of the national meetings were pretty traumatic. After Leo and I did our speaking and made sure things were moving, we would go off to our hotel and spend a little time with Jack Daniels. We enjoyed life together through those early years of EMS growth, both socially and professionally. He was a dear friend and a hard-working man, and he did a lot for EMS."
On May 16, 1981, NAEMT honored Leo by designating an award in his name. The Leo R. Schwartz EMS Service of the Year Award is presented at NAEMT's annual banquet, which will be held this year on October 23 in Atlanta, GA.
Leo Schwartz was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, and is survived by seven children, seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
-MN
