UPMC’s Freedom House 2.0 graduates celebrated their entry into the medical field at a ceremony held Friday at ACH Clear Pathways’ Kaufmann Center in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, the birthplace of the original Freedom House Ambulance Service.”You can change career paths. I came from criminal justice. I wanted to come to the medical field. I aspire to be an RN one day, and this is the path that led me there,” graduate Serrita Diggs said.The Freedom House Ambulance Service, founded in 1967, is a significant part of Pittsburgh’s history and has had a lasting impact nationwide.”It’s history of Pittsburgh, and the Freedom House is something that is historic not only here but across the country, and to be here to celebrate more people getting into the medical field is something special,” Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor said.”It’s such an honor to even be able to operate this program and use that name, thinking about that it is Black History Month and all of the struggles and all of the effort that those Black men went through back in the day to run this program is just a privilege to even be a part of,” said Trevor Mathey from the UPMC Freedom House 2.0 Program.John Moon, a retired assistant chief of Pittsburgh EMS and an original member of the Freedom House Ambulance Service, spoke at the graduation.”It’s also helping fulfill the desires of my heart, which is to make sure this part of history that’s been dormant or forgotten about for well over 50-plus years is brought back into the forefront where it belongs,” Moon said.”They actually had the bright idea of having an emergency room on wheels, and getting the treatment to patients who were in need and en route to the hospital,” Pittsburgh EMS Chief Amera Gilchrist said. “Before the Freedom House Ambulance Service, when you were sick, or you were dying or you were injured, you were thrown in the back of a police wagon and taken to the hospital, sometimes alive, sometimes not.”Moon hired Gilchrist when she was beginning her career, and Gilchrist has since become the first woman and the first Black person to serve as EMS chief in Pittsburgh. The two history makers want to share their knowledge through UPMC’s program and the city’s Freedom House EMT Academy.This marks the fifth year for UPMC’s Freedom House 2.0 program.

PITTSBURGH —

UPMC’s Freedom House 2.0 graduates celebrated their entry into the medical field at a ceremony held Friday at ACH Clear Pathways’ Kaufmann Center in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, the birthplace of the original Freedom House Ambulance Service.

“You can change career paths. I came from criminal justice. I wanted to come to the medical field. I aspire to be an RN one day, and this is the path that led me there,” graduate Serrita Diggs said.

The Freedom House Ambulance Service, founded in 1967, is a significant part of Pittsburgh’s history and has had a lasting impact nationwide.

“It’s history of Pittsburgh, and the Freedom House is something that is historic not only here but across the country, and to be here to celebrate more people getting into the medical field is something special,” Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor said.

“It’s such an honor to even be able to operate this program and use that name, thinking about that it is Black History Month and all of the struggles and all of the effort that those Black men went through back in the day to run this program is just a privilege to even be a part of,” said Trevor Mathey from the UPMC Freedom House 2.0 Program.

John Moon, a retired assistant chief of Pittsburgh EMS and an original member of the Freedom House Ambulance Service, spoke at the graduation.

“It’s also helping fulfill the desires of my heart, which is to make sure this part of history that’s been dormant or forgotten about for well over 50-plus years is brought back into the forefront where it belongs,” Moon said.

“They actually had the bright idea of having an emergency room on wheels, and getting the treatment to patients who were in need and en route to the hospital,” Pittsburgh EMS Chief Amera Gilchrist said. “Before the Freedom House Ambulance Service, when you were sick, or you were dying or you were injured, you were thrown in the back of a police wagon and taken to the hospital, sometimes alive, sometimes not.”

Moon hired Gilchrist when she was beginning her career, and Gilchrist has since become the first woman and the first Black person to serve as EMS chief in Pittsburgh. The two history makers want to share their knowledge through UPMC’s program and the city’s Freedom House EMT Academy.

This marks the fifth year for UPMC’s Freedom House 2.0 program.