The Freedom House Ambulance Service

The first community-based emergency medical service with trained paramedics launched in Pittsburgh in 1967. A 1966 report documented the lack of emergency medical care and health disparities across the U.S. and found that African Americans had the least access to emergency medical care in the nation, resulting in a public health crisis. Pittsburgh's largest African American neighborhood, the Hill District, suffered most acutely from this crisis. Freedom House addressed this need in 1967, through a strong collaboration between the Maurice Falk Medical Fund, Freedom House Enterprises, and Presbyterian Hospital. The Freedom House Ambulance Service served the Hill District, Oakland, and downtown Pittsburgh from 1967 to 1975.