Posted: Feb 28, 2025, 9:40 AM
Here is a story connecting Bossier Parish EMS to the historical origins of EMS services worldwide.
Last year, the Bossier Parish Emergency Medical Services Office opened a new EMS station just on the outskirts of the Town of Haughton. According to Steve Nezat, Bossier Parish EMS Director, this new station will significantly improve response times throughout the parish.
"This area right here in Haughton, we’re located a little bit on the edge of town. But we saw we needed a station here to serve this area better. And we have one of the neighboring areas that is very busy too, and so having this station here helps them out as well," said Nezat.
The new station, officially named Medic 5, also features a special recognition on one of its walls. "We did recognize the Freedom House Ambulance when we opened it. I wanted everybody to hear the story of Freedom House," Nezat added.
The Freedom House, founded in 1967 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a pioneering paramedic ambulance service that served the predominantly Black community of the Hill District. It was the first of its kind in the nation and the world. "This was unheard of! It was the first," Nezat emphasized.
During its first year of operation, the Freedom House Ambulance Service responded to nearly 5,800 calls, transported more than 4,600 patients, and saved 200 lives. Nezat reflected on the challenges these early paramedics faced, saying, "Now you take them and put them in this world where no one has ever done this before, and you’re walking into a hospital where you’ve started IVs on them, and intubated and push drugs on, had to be mind boggling."
Nezat believes that many in his industry are unaware of the history behind their profession. He shared that his journey into paramedicine began with a deep admiration for the work of the Freedom House Ambulance. "I felt like I wanted to do more, and I couldn’t, and these paramedics would come in the doors, and they were doing these things that the Freedom House Ambulance had built, and it blew me away, and I was like, I need to do that," he said.
If you would like to learn more about the Freedom House Ambulance Service, go to the link below.