National EMS Week
Emergency Medical Service professionals are the steady hands in chaos, the calm voices in crisis, and the lifeline when every second matters. During National EMS Week (May 17–23), we pause to recognize the dedication, resilience, and life-saving impact of EMS providers across the country. While their work deserves appreciation every single day, the path to building today’s EMS system is more recent and more remarkable than many realize.
Rewind to the 1950s, when the rise of highway travel brought a surge in serious car accidents. Emergency care outside the hospital was limited, and the system simply wasn’t equipped to handle the growing need. Physicians were stretched thin, often forced to juggle hospital responsibilities with emergency response. To fill the gap, funeral home workers, equipped with hearses and basic first aid knowledge, were called in to transport the injured.
The turning point came during the era of the Vietnam War, where military medics […]


















