Before the 1960s, funeral home hearses were used to transport trauma victims to hospitals, most heart attack patients did not live to make it to the hospital for treatment and there was no standardized training for treating patients outside of hospitals.
It wasn’t until the mid-60s to early 70s that the foundations of today’s paramedic programs were formed, and Beloit was at the forefront of paramedic training.
Dr. Kenneth Gold, who served as paramedic training coordinator for the Beloit Fire Department from 1979 to 1990, gave a history of the paramedic program during a Society for Learning Unlimited (SLU) program at First Congregational Church Thursday morning. “Saving lives is a team effort,” Gold said. “Anyone who has done CPR knows it is an intense effort.”