When A Pandemic Struck,
Paramedics Stepped Up

Medic One ambulances and paramedics students in training at Harboview Medical Center

Medic One ambulances and paramedics students in training at Harboview Medical Center.

For 50 years, Medic One has provided lifesaving services for our region — even during an unprecedented public health crisis.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, Medic One found a new way to provide emergency healthcare to the community. In partnership with King County EMS, the paramedic program earned approval from the state to conduct its own swab tests and established community test sites to help track the disease in Seattle.

“Medic One has always provided innovation in pre-hospital care, and that has held true in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Harold Scoggins, chief of the Seattle Fire Department. “I give credit to our city and county medical directors, as well as our paramedics, for seeing the opportunity to serve when our community needs us most.”

The public health service — a pioneering partnership between UW Medicine, Harborview Medical Center, the Seattle Fire Department and the Medic One Foundation — celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020. We at UW Medicine are so proud of the service’s highly skilled paramedics, who are providing lifesaving emergency care for our community.

Graduating During a Pandemic

The MD class of 2020 is the first class to complete medical school virtually. Even before the 2020 pandemic, this year’s graduating class of 270 medical students already distinguished themselves as being resilient, adaptable and highly engaged. It is no surprise that their spirits remained high as their Physician’s Oath and Hooding ceremony moved online, or that 24 graduates agreed to be class representatives to the UW Medicine Alumni Association and another 150 said they would like to mentor medical students. The demand for high-quality, compassionate healthcare has never been greater, and we are confident that the newest physicians trained at the UW School of Medicine are already doing their part to meet this need.