Press

Help is Here, an exhibition tracing the history of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in New York State and the nation, will open at the New York State Musem Saturday, November 20th.

Help is Here, which will run through September 11, 2005, will feature a group of 15 historic ambulances, dating from 1911 to the present, historic medical equipment used in the field and photographs, some dating back to 1910, showing patient transport, treatment and EMS crews and equipment. Most of the objects in the exhibition are on loan to the Museum from other museums, ambulance companies and private collectors.

Ambulances on exhibit will include a 1918 Dodge used by the National League for
Women's Service to transport wounded soldiers from ships returning from Europe to New
York City during World War I, a 1926 Cunningham made in Rochester, and the State Museum's own 1939 Pontiac with a Superior body, the first ambulance to operate within the Adirondacks. There also will be Cadillac-based ambulances of the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the very first (1969) Horton Emergency Vehicles Co. van-based ambulance and one of the last Medical Coaches Bluestar ambulances. Built in Oneonta in 1987, this rig served the village of Delhi until the spring of 2004.

Funeral directors operated several of the ambulances, a common practice through the 1960s. Notable in this category are a 1911 Cunningham horse-drawn ambulance and a 1940 LaSalle-Miller combination hearse and ambulance.

The exhibition has been made possible through the generosity of the New York State Department of Health's Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, the presenting sponsor. Providing additional support is Laerdal Medical Corporation, United New York Ambulance Network, Upstate Medical University and Emergency Medical Services Magazine.

The State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. Started in 1836, the museum has the nation's longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey. The museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. Further information is available by calling 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

The New York State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week throughout the year except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.