Dr. Leonard Cobb, contributing founder of Medic One, dies

SEATTLE — Dr. Leonard Cobb, one of the founders of the Seattle Fire Medic One program, died on Tuesday.

Cobb is credited for helping establish the Seattle Medic One paramedic program at Harborview Medical Center in 1970, according to a statement issued from the Seattle Fire Department and Harborview Medical Center on behalf of his family.

The goal of the Seattle Medic One program is to provide emergency care comparable to what a patient would receive from a trained doctor at a hospital.

A year later, Cobb was among those who created bystander CPR training for nonmedical professionals.

“Both of these programs have earned worldwide acclaim and inspired fire and emergency medical service departments to follow in Seattle’s footsteps,” the statement said.

In the 1960s, Cobb was the Director of Cardiology at Harborview Medical Center. In 1969, with the help of then-Fire Chief Vickery, Cobb created a local program where specially trained firefighters were trained as paramedics and dispatched to give CPR, use a defibrillator, and give IV medicines to patients to stabilize them so they could be transported to the hospital.

In 1971, Cobb, Vickery, and Seattle Rotary #4 launched Seattle Medic Two to train members of the community in CPR.

So far, Seattle Fire’s Medic Two program has trained more than 1 million people do to CPR.

Read more about Cobb’s accomplishments, legacy and what local leaders are saying about his passing at this link.

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