E19: The legacy of Freedom House with Chief Moon

As an emergency physician and someone who loves EMS, I’ve always believed that we should understand the history of the systems we work in. But the truth is, many clinicians today don’t realize how modern paramedicine actually began.

Before paramedics existed, an ambulance call in many cities meant a police wagon. There were no trained providers in the back, no oxygen, no medications—just a ride to the hospital.

That changed in Pittsburgh in the late 1960s with the creation of the Freedom House Ambulance Service.

In this episode, I had the incredible honor of sitting down with Chief John Moon, one of the original Freedom House paramedics. Alongside pioneers like Dr. Peter Safar and Dr. Nancy Caroline, these men helped build the very foundation of modern EMS—bringing advanced medical care directly to patients long before it became standard practice.

But this story is about more than the birth of paramedicine.

It’s about a group of young Black men from Pittsburgh’s Hill District who were given an opportunity to serve their community—and in doing so changed emergency medicine forever.

Chief Moon shares powerful stories about the early days of Freedom House, the groundbreaking training they received, the lives they saved, and the challenges they faced along the way.

For me, this conversation is also deeply personal. The story of Freedom House is one of the reasons I came to Pittsburgh and pursued EMS and emergency medicine here.

If you are a paramedic, EMT, nurse, physician, or anyone who works in emergency care, this is a piece of history that belongs to all of us.

I’m truly honored to share Chief Moon’s story with you.

Transcript

0:00

Before modern EMS existed, an ambulance call in America often meant a police wagon. No oxygen, no medications, no paramedics. Just a ride to the hospital if help came at all. But in the late 1960s in Pittsburgh's Hill District, a group of young black men changed that reality forever trained by visionary physicians, like Peter Safar, the Freedom House paramedics became the first in the nation to bring advanced medical care directly to patients in their homes and on the streets. Intubating, starting IVs and delivering life-saving treatment long before it became standard practice. What they built became the foundation of modern paramedicine. Yet for decades, their story was nearly erased from history. Today we're honored to hear that story from someone who lived it. Chief John Moon is one of the original Freedom House paramedics. A pioneer whose work helped shape the EMS systems we rely on today. This is EMERGE in EM, and this is the story of Freedom House.

Mohamed 1:16

Chief Moon, it is truly an honor to have you here. When we talk about the birth of modern prayer medicine in the United States, we're really talking about, you we're talking about the men of the Freedom House Ambulance Service in Pittsburgh, pa. I want to start by taking people back, way back because I don't think most clinicians today understand what EMS looked like before you. So what was an ambulance call? like in the mid 1960s.

Chief Moon 1:49

unfortunately, an ambulance called Simply Meant, a police, vehicle, a police wagon that normally transported prisoners, to jail or a funeral home. And, That was the norm, not only, in the community that I lived in and the city of Pittsburgh, but throughout the country, there was no such thing as a, emergency vehicle, where you brought the emergency room to the person. And if I can take you back, in time, probably back into the early sixties, During that time, it was the civil rights era. There was a lot of protesting going on and things like that. And, trying to bring aware, bring the world to the awareness of discrimination and inequality and things regarding jobs and housing and things. And, Pittsburgh, was, all a part of that and. it takes me to a community, called the Pittsburgh Hill District, which is where I grew up. And, in this community, jobs were a problem. Housing was a problem. It was a desolate, separate community from, The rest of the city and the political powers to be had very little concern about, the community, public housing, was the way to group, people of color into a segregated area. and unfortunately, in this community, we grew accustomed to that. And, We had people that couldn't, get to emergency rooms. We had to rely on the police. And I guess on the surface that looked good. okay. But at that particular time, the community had what I would call an adversarial relationship with law enforcement, and there was no such thing as, diversity, equity, and inclusion. So your, police officers, during that timeframe, were. 98, 99% white males. And so if you could take that picture there and place it into a black community that had an adversarial relationship with law enforcement, they didn't like the people in the community. And the community didn't trust law enforcement during that time. it was more or less, like we were held captive in this condensed area. If you had a medical emergency, basically, there was no 9 1 1 system at that time. You dialed a seven digit number and you got a police dispatcher that would ask you, obviously the name and the location and things like that, and they would dispatch a police wagon. Now, in this community, the police decided whether they wanted to come or not, whether they wanted to transport you to the emergency room and how long they wanted to take to get there. So if you could imagine a police wagon whenever they found the time to get to you, pulling up to your residence and two white officers coming in and, more than likely escorting you out to the back of this police wagon and laying you down on a canvas cot that was probably about two inches off the floor and both officers got up front and, away you went to the emergency room. in the perfect world. That could be acceptable. But if something happened to you back there, you stopped breathing or your heart stopped beating, there was no one back there to help you. and so oftentimes you arrived at the emergency room worse than when they came to get you. And as I mentioned, that was the norm and it was even worse, in the Hill District. During that time also, the federal government, was trying to offset the, concerns of poverty and racial discrimination and things that throughout the country. And so they started funneling money into various underserved, neglected communities. And the Hill District happened to be part of that. And they got a small grant and a gentleman by the name of James McCoy, who was a community activist at that time. he started, an organization called Freedom House Enterprise Incorporated which was primarily responsible for job placement and job training, voter registration, that was even a mini food bank, in this, office. And the building is still there today. And it's unfortunately the Hill District Federal Credit Union because the whole trajectory of that part of history has been erased. so James McCoy, had other community activists, Thelma Levette, Phil Hallen, James Williams, Herbert Bean. and this group of people would meet maybe once a month or twice a month, and, try to solve some of the problems within the community. One of the, board of directors, a gentleman by the name of Phil Hallen, he came up with what I would call a vision, and he said that if this community can deliver food to the residents of this underserved community, why can't they deliver medical care? Because he knew that the community had to rely on the police. You had residents that couldn't get back and forth to doctor's appointments, so he wanted to change that mindset. And what he did is he really didn't know how to get his vision in operation. So they reached out to the local hospital, which was, Presbyterian, university Hospital, which is UPMC today, and they put him in touch with the gentleman by the name of Dr. Peter Saffer. Ironically, Dr. Saffer was a visionary in his own right, and it was his vision that it wasn't. How fast you got that person to the emergency room that determined the outcome. But what was being done before they got there. And ironically, he was still having problems getting his vision out, to the medical community and up comes this organization with the need to solve their medical crisis. And Dr. Saffer saw an opportunity to get his vision out to the world, and it was almost like a marriage. And Dr. Saffer agreed to train people from the community on how to provide pre-hospital care and Freedom House had one request that every person you trained had to be black, and he agreed to that. Dr. Saffer takes 25, black men at that particular time, and he put us through the most intense training program that had ever been done anywhere in this country. we spent time in the emergency room not observing, but actually treating patients, time in the intensive care units, in the obstetrics unit, assisting in delivery of infants. Time spent in the operating room. you're actually talking to the very first person with a high school education to go into an operating room to, perform an endotracheal intubation on an anesthetized patient, that had never been done before. And that in itself was a challenge, believe it or not, because when I went there, I wasn't told to reason why I was meeting Dr. Saffer. So I met him outside the operating room and we got, dressed appropriately and he opened the door to the operating room and everything stopped and it was as quiet in there as it is now. And they were all watching me and the anesthetists, stopped what they were doing and they looked up. The surgeon who was preparing surgery, the OR technicians, they were busy running around. All of a sudden they stopped in their tracks and they were watching me and what I found out later is that the only reason they were looking at me is during that time, the only time someone that looked like me came into an operating room was with a mop or a bucket, but I didn't have that. So Dr. Saffer walks over to the anesthesiologist who had anesthetized the patient and told them, get out. You sit down and intubate that patient. And at that particular time, I knew all these people were looking at me, but I didn't see'em. And failure was not an option. So I sat down and intubated the person on the very first try and it was successful. And we went around from room to room. During the course of that day, intubating, unsu expect patients. And what I thought about at that time is, had I failed that procedure, there's a great chance paramedics would not be performing that skill today. And, it's amazing to me that Dr. Saffer wasn't afraid to push the envelopes. he's still putting us through all of this different types of training with the IV team and the coronary care unit and things. and once we complete this training, we're placed on a vehicle, to go out and treat our community Now. That in itself presented a unique challenge because remember, the community was used to the police coming to get'em. So at that time, they had certain concerns when people that looked like them showed up at their door bringing a oxygen tank in, or heart monitor or drug, kit and treating the patient right there in their living room and things. they express their concerns. Why are you delaying transporting my loved one. Why don't you just transport'em to the emergency room? If something happens to them, you're gonna be in a lot of trouble. So we had to teach the community that we were bringing the emergency room to them. and once we were able to accomplish that goal, things were very well received. so here we are treating this underserved community with the very best pre-hospital care possible that had never been done anywhere in the country. And unbeknown to me at that time, I never envisioned that skill I performed in the operating room, I was gonna do it less than a week later in a person's home. And at that particular time, we encountered a patient that at trouble breathing. And, we called our medical director, Dr. Nancy Caroline, and she said, intubate that patient and start an IV on them. And I thought she had lost her mind. I said, will you repeat that? She says, yes, intubate that patient and start an IV on him. So I had my partner set up the equipment and I intubated the patient on the first try, and we rushed him off to the emergency room. And, it's interesting because unbeknown to me, that second challenge came up because we entered into the emergency room with a, a. Patient that had already been intubated and IV on him, and I got challenged by the emergency room doctor. Who did this? I did. And who are you? I said, I'm John Moon and I work for Freedom House Ambulance Service. who told you to do it? Dr. Nancy Caroline, our medical director and fortunately for us. Some of our internships in the intensive care units were done at this particular hospital. and there was a nurse that said, they're doing that now. it became the norm for us to the point that, we expected different challenges and the next hurdle we had to deal with was, keep in mind, the emergency rooms around this city were used to people coming in, dropping the patient off and leaving. So here's this black organization with these black guys dressed in white uniforms with afros and beards coming in with the patient on a stretcher. Walking up to, a nurse saying, I have a 28-year-old male who suffered a syncopal episode while at work. His, blood pressure is 120/80. lung sounds are clear. Respiratory rate is 16. EKG reading is tachy breathing rhythm. He has no pertinent past history. I started an IV of lactated ringers on him, and here he is, they bust out laughing.

Mohamed 14:01

That's the best report I ever heard.

Chief Moon 14:04

Because they were not accustomed to people that looked like me speaking to them on their own terms. So I got offended by it. So I went back to our medical director and said, I don't even know why we learning this, huh. She didn't even listen to me. She said, if you don't learn to speak the language at the emergency room, no one will ever listen to you. Go back in there and find a doctor. Her. So I went back in and found a physician and recited that same scenario and it was received, quite well. and it's amazing that we grew accustomed to different challenges day in and day out. And, we started running all these calls in the Hill District and once the political powers, discovered that, okay, let's see if we can get pre-hospital care downtown. So we entered into an agreement to provide pre-hospital care to the business district downtown. and so we would get a stipend using your term, once a year, to provide this, service. And that was all part of our maintenance and vehicle supplies and equipment and portion went to payroll and things like that. And as I think about it, here we are running these calls in this community, giving them the best medical care possible, and it became the norm for us. we weren't even. Thinking about starting, setting a standard or creating a foundation for every EMS system across the country. We were so caught up in the moment of treating these people in this underserved community that the thought never crossed our mind. and we at that time, we are busy providing care and we discovered that the police were not giving us the calls that we should have been getting in our community. And so we had to come up with a way to offset that. So we bought a police scanner and we start monitoring police calls. So whenever a call came in the hill and we heard it, and the police would dispatch, we would self dispatch ourselves, beat the police there, treat the patient and pass the police going to the scene on the way to the hospital. And as I think about that. That one little change basically showed me that we were to become victims of our own success, because here we are just running calls and doing it on a day-to-day basis and enjoying life because that's what we enjoyed doing. And one day in Squirrel Hill, a child was struck by a port authority bus. And at that particular time, the police arrived on the scene and, they didn't know what to do. They panicked and they, called the dispatcher and says, can you send Freedom House here? And the dispatcher says, no, I can't because it's not their district. And the officer responded, you better send someone out here that knows what the hell they're doing. So we heard that call and self dispatched to Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill, treated the child, transported them to children, and subsequently saved his life. And that's great. But what we didn't notice at that time is the community saw that and they in turn voiced their concerns to the political powers at that time, saying, how dare you allow those people in that rundown, neglected public housing, welfare community, to have better medical care than I do. I contributed to your campaign, you better do something. So the political machine, the mayor in particular, had to bow to the wishes of its constituents, and the normal thing to do in my mind was to expand the service that you already had. But he didn't like this particular service, so to prove that he decided to create his own EMS system. And there was no room in it for an entity such as Freedom House. So he created an all white EMS system and he brought personnel in from the suburbs into an urban environment. And unfortunately, the personnel came in with preconceived ideas that this was the most dangerous place in the world to be. So I have to arm myself. And so they brought with them guns and knives and things. the vehicles had handcuffs on them and they had seven cell flashlights, not to find your way around in the dark, but to use as a weapon because someone's gonna attack me. unfortunately the paramedics during that time were trained that people in public housing and underserved communities don't have heart attacks and strokes and diabetes. You are only going to get, domestic violence and shootings and drug overdoses in those areas. So before they went to say a public housing complex, they would wait at the edge of the complex for police to arrive and escort them in because we are going into this dangerous area, and that became the norm. So we didn't know that at the time, so Freedom House is still running calls in their district. city of Pittsburgh has created this super ambulance service with this highly trained people. and they're running around the city, with the best equipment, the best vehicles and things. And we are struggling to stay afloat. And we unfortunately, Started to struggle beyond imagination. we got a call one day, to go to the mayor and in our mind, wow, the mayor's coming down and he's going to expand Freedom House into this other community and things. So let's drop a plan on where he can put vehicles and things. So we drew up this plan and said, here, mayor, we brought a plan for you to expand EMS throughout the city. He takes the plan and says, I'll give it to my director. The reason I called you down here is your vehicles are making too much noise. Your sirens, can you put a bell or something on that vehicle? You mean like an ice cream truck bell? He says, yeah. So he issued an executive order that whenever Freedom House went to downtown Pittsburgh, we were not allowed to use our sirens. So we would have to go to a stoplight, wait for it to change, go to the next one. And that impacted our response times. Second challenge we had is we had a, written agreement, a contract, so to speak, with the city of Pittsburgh that we would provide pre-hospital care to the business district every year, we would get January, we would get a check for roughly about 20,$25,000 or something. That was a lot of money back then. In January of 1975, we get a check for$5,000. February, we didn't get anything. March we get another check and them doing that impacted our day-to-day operations and payrolls and things. and so we continued to struggle and we had to reach out to different foundations for grants and donations and things. So we had to make a decision. Do we continue to, Struggle on the day-to-day operations are that we cut our losses and just die a dignified death. And we chose to do the latter. We chose to cease operations and turn everything over to Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services that was operating. And we entered into a written agreement that they would take the vehicle, the equipment, and the personnel, we would not have to go through any additional training because we were already trained by the very best possible November of 1975, we show up for work. What should have been a smooth transition. Turned out to be a very traumatic experience. We entered into a system where we were not wanted, instead of, allowing us to be part of a crew. We were relegated to the role of an observer. We couldn't talk on the radio, couldn't examine, patient, couldn't drive the vehicles. we were put through additional training that didn't meet the standards that we had already set. we would change shift change at a moment's notice. I'm working seven to three today. I have to come back at 11 o'clock, tonight. and that was strategically done in an effort to frustrate. the personnel and it, it was a, what I would call a systematic elimination process, and it was very successful. And because 80% of the people that came over from Freedom House, were either terminated or just said, I just can't deal with this anymore, this environment, I'm outta here. and it worked. And, One of the few myself, that sustained the onslaught. I first person that did a tracheal intubation in the field and I had all this training by Dr. Saffron, Dr. Nancy, Caroline, I was still relegated to the role of an exerter until one day fate took over. I. I went on a call with the crew that I was working with, and we walked into a person's home and the person was unconscious, not breathing, and didn't have a heartbeat, and they were in cardiac arrest. And the crew that I was working with, they didn't know what to do. They panicked. So they looked at the person that wasn't allowed to do anything and say, you take over. So I said, okay, you start the iv, you put the person on the monitor. I do the endotracheal intubation and we saved the person's life. And that was great, but it had to be kept quiet. Because I wasn't allowed to do anything, so that put me in the mindset that I had to make a decision. Do I remain this quiet, unnoticeable observer, or do I step up my game? And I chose to do the latter. I chose to make sure that the city of Pittsburgh EMS know who John Moon was and I, I. Became the outspoken advocate on patient care. I challenged the department on its treatment of, African Americans, and I challenged the department on the equipment. It had the handcuffs and the seven cell flashlights. And John Moon got noticed and I started getting promoted. And as I'm going up the ranks, I noticed that Pittsburgh EMS had not hired anyone that looked like me. Unfortunately, the department went 10 years without hiring an African American. So I challenged the department on its hiring process. Okay, it's your problem, you come up with a solution for it. So I designed the various first diversity recruitment program, for Pittsburgh EMS, and I used the same format, that Freedom House use. I went out in the community and created people that didn't know what an EMT was or a paramedic. Placed'em into a training program, got them a, stipend while they were going, and was able to get the department to hold our job phases over open for'em. and that became the norm all while I was there. And unfortunately, once I started all this, I didn't know I had sabotaged my own career. The department used a next man up promotional process, process. It used for 30 years. You're at this level. Something becomes available above you automatically up from the administration standpoint. They used that for 30 years until it was time for John Moon to be promoted to assistant chief position. I got passed over, by a gentleman i'd been his boss for 15 years. 15 years, I ran Pittsburgh EMS, the day-to-day operations, promotions, firings, terminations, complaints. Everything came across John Moon's desk, but I wasn't qualified enough to become assistant chief, so I challenged Pittsburgh EMS on that. They in turn gave me a token title of Assistant Chief, but they had taken all of my duties and given them to him, which made him eligible for the next promotion. So I was relegated to, teaching CPR and handling complaints. Another promotion came up for the deputy chief position. Obviously, he got it because he could put all these responsibilities that I had on his resume, and I was very upset about that. So I filed a lawsuit against the city of Pittsburgh for discrimination in their promotional process. And if you know anything about municipal government, they don't admit to anything. So the department during that time made my life there a living hell, guys that I worked with for 25, 30 years that I even helped promote, weren't allowed to talk to me, come into my office and things like that. So I had no, authority whatsoever. In addition to that, the gentleman was making an$8,000 a year more than I was, and we held the same title. So I'm going through all these challenges with Pittsburgh EMS, and I had to make a decision. Do I stay and show you how tough I am or do I cut my losses? Retired, and I chose to do that. And I retired in 2009. the paramedics gave me a, fantastic retirement party at August Wilson, center downtown, and it was attended by, a lot of dignitaries. the unfortunate thing about that is the supervisory personnel of Pittsburgh EMS were told not to come. And unfortunately they didn't. I retired, run off to a happy life, and I had to reflect back on the fact that no matter how good I was, what I designed and came up with and created, I was never going to be promoted to the position to run that department because it was designed to prevent that from ever happening. I had to accept that. Also had to accept the fact that wasn't why I was there. I wasn't there to go up the ranks and run the department. I was there to break down hurdles and barriers that when people that looked like me came after me, they would have an opportunity to do that. So I'm off into my retirement and, Pittsburgh emss running fine and, fate took over again. Pittsburgh elected his first African American mayor in the 200 year history of the city. and he was a, gentleman that I had worked with during my diversity recruitment process. So he knew the challenges and the hurdles that I had dealt with. and he came in and looked at Pittsburgh EMS, and he saw an African American, in the deputy chief position, and he tells the chief who for 48 years had already always been a white male. we're going in a different direction. You, should retire. And he appoints the very first African American chief in the 40 50 year history of Pittsburgh, EMS, black female. And the irony of that is she is someone that I hired during my diversity recruitment program. So she comes in and she knows about Freedom House. So she creates a Freedom House EMT Academy, inside of Pittsburgh, EMS. And she uses the same format that I do, and it's very successful. She has a 100% success rate in the passing of, the National Registry. And I think back that, and I'm no longer there and my legacy lives through her. And then I think about the hurdles and the setbacks and the disappointments and broken promises that I dealt with both at Freedom House and at Pittsburgh EMS. And then I look at her and I smile and I say it was all worth it.

Mohamed 30:35

It was

Chief Moon 30:37

I just can't thank you enough because you're giving me an opportunity. To fulfill the desires of my heart because it's part of history that's been dormant for 50 plus years. and I wanted to be known that I'm not this disgruntled retired assistant chief of Pittsburgh EMS. I love the department, I love the people that work there and will always have a special place in my heart. But we are talking about different times here. And, as of right now, I have to accept the fact that, very few people have heard about Freedom House. And even though that saddens me, I understand why. unfortunately it was the department's intent at that time is to eliminate any mention of Freedom House. And you do that by getting rid of the people. So if you eliminate the history makers, you simply eliminate that part of history that they made, which, opened my eyes to accept the fact that very few people have heard of Freedom House. So just this Mere platform, gives me the opportunity to fulfill the desires of my heart to get that part out to the world.

Mohamed 31:46

It is truly an honor for me to have you on this platform to share these stories, and I feel from knowing you throughout the years reading the book, listening to the stories of these individuals that you inspired, that you mentored. And chief Moon, if I may, maybe I didn't share with you the personal story, but my personal story is that the reason why I am in Pittsburgh is because of the Freedom House. So just to give you a quick background, I went to medical school in Germany. I lived in Germany for four years. I wanted to come to the United States to go to do medicine, to go to medical school. And I was, at the time when I was looking for programs, I was looking at areas, that are affordable, good quality education. So of course that was not California for me. so I, as much as I like the warm wear, then I was like, oh, okay, I'm gonna have to look a little bit more affordable areas in Northeast and. I was looking things like emergency medicine, EMS education, polio vaccine. All these things started to pop up about Pittsburgh and one of them was the Freedom House, and this was back maybe 2003, 2004. So I started to read more about the Freedom House, what they did for their community in the city of Pittsburgh. A lot of people didn't know that. It was only a few blogs that were, on Google, shared on Google. And I was like, you know what? I like this city. I like this program. I wanna be a paramedic. So I came to Pittsburgh knowing the rich, medical history of this city, the community, engagement, how people give back to, to, to the under-resourced, to the underprivileged. And me as an African immigrant. I was born in Sudan. My hope was to come back to Sudan and serve my people who are underprivileged, under resourced. So for me, it's a huge opportunity to sit down here and do the things that I enjoy with EMS and emergency medicine. While learning from you and having the honor to have you as my mentor, because you are the reason why I'm here. So think about that for a hot second. we have not known each other for, I don't know, we come from two separate worlds, but I'm here because of you. It's crazy, thousands of miles away. but again, the impact still exists. One question that came to my mind is that when the Freedom House ended, what do you think was lost? Not just operationally, I'm thinking culturally.

Chief Moon 34:26

the historical perspective obviously, was lost. Unfortunately, and it pains me to say this, investment into community. EMS systems, unfortunately, around the country have personnel shortages and, whether it's EMT and our paramedic, as well as diversity issues, which is a primary, result of not investing back into the communities in which they serve. remember Freedom House, served an underserved community. We had residents that couldn't get to doctor's appointments, so we came to their residents, took'em to their doctor's appointments, then took'em back home. we transported everyone, that was needing assistance. now and. Something that came to mind when I was with Pittsburgh EMS, that was a policy implemented called No Medical Emergency, which gave the paramedic the sole discretion on whether they wanted to transport the patient to the emergency room or not. people in the Hill never experience that, so it allowed individuals to, Pick and choose on who they wanted to transport or profile a particular community and think, and that was unfortunately widespread, during that time. So the historical perspective of Freedom House, the community involvement, just to give you an example on how well we were appreciated. And I love this example is we could go into the hill, for lunch and park our vehicle a half a block away with the windows down the engine running and no one would touch it. That would be unheard of. So I would love to see. The EMS system across the country kind of reengage, into their communities, to make them fit because that's where your allies are. and if you would take that effort, it's easy to post. We have job openings here, but if I don't go out to job fairs and Communities Day and things like that to recruit from within, then I'm gonna continue to have these problems. So Freedom House did just that. We, In and, engaged with the community itself. We invested, we were invested into community, and I think that's the one thing that, is missing, throughout, EMS systems across the country. I,

Mohamed 37:03

Do you think modern day paramedics and EMTs know where their profession comes from?

Chief Moon 37:08

unfortunately, no, It's my desire, and I'm still working. I don't know how to quit, is that the history of EMS has to be taught in every EMT training program, every paramedic training program, every EMS physicians, program. And until we start doing that, this part of history will still be, noticed in bits and pieces. we have the book out American Sirens. We wrote the very first paramedic training manual in emergency care in the streets. And as that book is given more editions and they're probably, it's about this thick now, freedom House is a footnote in that manual. we wrote the very first paramedic manual with Dr. Nancy Caroline, who, was our medical director, and they talk about how great systems are in Los Angeles and Seattle and Jacksonville and Miami and how they started in the history and they talk about Freedom House, a footnote, a group of black men that didn't have an opportunity to get a high school education. Those are the types of things that I, that motivate me to continue this challenge of making sure this part of history is brought out. So that's one of the things I'm working to change, is to bring Freedom Houses importance back into that paramedic training manual.

Mohamed 38:34

If a 22-year-old paramedic or EMT is listening to this right now, what do you want them to know about the Freedom House?

Chief Moon 38:43

We were a, group of individuals that are refuse to allow our past to determine our future. we were a group that decided to rise above it in spite of it, and we treated a community as if they were members of our own family.

Mohamed 39:05

Oh, and I want to end with something personal. you, If you could speak to the young version of you that proud, quote unquote unemployable man who walked into the first day of Freedom House, what would you tell him?

Chief Moon 39:26

Job well done. Yes, job well done. but the fight continues. And, the interesting thing about, me coming to Freedom House is, the first time I applied twice. The first time I applied, they told me I wasn't qualified to work there. And so what that did by telling me I can't do something, is it unleashed the set of motivating factors, in me that I didn't know I had at that time, to the point that no matter what the hurdle or barrier is, every time it comes up, it motivates me to try even harder. So I left there and found an EMT course and went back three months later and got hired on the spot. And I've lived by that, mindset that there's nothing I can't accomplish. I, I may put it down for a while and let it rest or let me rest, but I'm going to come back to it, because I don't know how to quit. And Freedom House played a major role in having me accomplish that goal.

Mohamed 40:28

Chief Moon, do you have any advice for clinicians? Learners like myself, doctors, nurses, EMTs, paramedics who look like us or come from groups that may feel, they're unseen, they're not included. how can they feel that they can create a difference without really feeling that they don't belong in that organization? how can they. Just keep fighting. How can they gain that motivation and the spirit like you did?

Chief Moon 41:03

Hurdles and barriers are all a part of life, and as long as you're on this earth, you're going to encounter'em. The goal is to not let that hurdle or that barrier overtake you. You have a choice. Either go around it. Or knock it down and every time a hurdle is put before you use it as a motivator instead of an excuse.

Mohamed 41:29

I'll take that forever with me. Thank you. I appreciate you Chief Moon,

Chief Moon 41:32

you.

Mohamed 41:32

do you have any final words you wanna share with the audience?

Chief Moon 41:36

even though I'm talking about, I'm talking to you, about Freedom House, it's not necessarily, about me as a person. It's about, a group of, visionaries that saw a need in an underserved community and took that vision to another visionary. And that visionary, Dr. Saffer gave his vision to a group of creative change makers, which were the paramedics from Freedom House, and they, took that vision out to the world. And in doing that, they were the setbacks and disappointments and broken promises and frustrations to create a system that we take for granted today. That's glorified on television. That's the legacy of Freedom House ambulance service.

Mohamed 42:20

Chief Moon, thank you for your excellence, for your leadership, and personally for your mentorship. thank you for reminding me that innovation is often born in communities that the world underestimates. And again, I'm just happy that I get to breathe the same air that you're breathing. I appreciate your time.

Chief Moon 42:45

Thank you so much for this opportunity and, I'm still out there fighting to keep this part of history alive, so thank you so much.

Mohamed 42:52

God bless you. Thank you.

Chief Moon 42:53

Okay.