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xv Acknowledgments Let me begin by expressing my appreciation to the people who make it all possible— the hundreds of emergency dispatchers, the thousands of EMTs, and the hundreds of paramedics in Seattle and King County. Special thanks also to the dispatch directors , fire chiefs, and train­ ing officers. We have a wonderful EMS system, and it is all because of you. I am so proud of the great work you do. I am indebted to dozens of colleagues and research staff whom I have had the plea­ sure of knowing and working with over the past thirty-six years. They include Alan Abe, Mary Alice Allenbach, Dan Anderson, Elena Andresen, Felisa Azpitarte, Lance Becker, Deborah Berger, Larry Bergner, the late Marilyn Bergner, Jennifer Blackwood , Barbara Blake, Megan Bloomingdale, Jim Boehl, Bosaiya (who provided many of the fig­ ures that appear in this book), Cynthia Bradshaw, Allan Braslow, Margaret Brownell, Dean Brooke, Byron Byrne, Tony Cagle, David Carlbom, Bill Carter, Douglas Chamberlain, Fred Chapman, Helen Chatalas, Al Church, Jill Clark, Don Cloyd, Linda Culley, Richard Cummins, Cip Dacanay, Marlys Davis, Paul Davison, Susan Damon , Gregory Dean, Paula Diehr, Leah Doctorello, Eric Dulberg, Jim Duren, Daniel Eisenberg, David Eisenberg, Devora Eisenberg, Tom Evans, Carol Fahrenbruch, Sylvia Feder, David Fleming, Rob Galbraith, Gayle Garson, Laurie Gold, Tom Gudmestad, Wendy Guirl, Al Hallstrom, Valerie Harris, Blake Harrison, Jerris Hedges, Dan Henwood , John Herbert, Mary Ho, Cynthia Horton, Betty Hurtado, Brooke Ike, John Jerin, Dave Jones, Dawn Jorgensen, Noa Kay, Art Kellerman, Rudy Koster, Paula Lank, Mary Pat Larsen, Xich Le, Marty LeFave, Michelle Lightfoot, Paul Litwin, Jim Logerfo, Gianna Malo, Jill Marsden, Chuck Maynard, Jim Moore, Ken Moralee, Carl Morgan, Mark Moulton, Jack Murray, Eugene Nagel, Bill Newbold, Graham Nichol, Bud Nicole, Chris xvi Acknowledgments Niels, Bob Niskanen, Jon Nolan, Irit Nuri, Jeanne O’Brien, Steve Olmstead, Michele Olsufka , Gil Omenn, Joe Ornato, Hoke Overland, Steve Perry, Randi Phelps, Judy Pierce, Alonzo Plough, Judy Prentice, Ron Quinsey, Sally Ragsdale, Mike Remington, Karen Rodriquez, Jim Russell, Jim Schneider, Dmitry Sharkov, Larry Sherman, Jenny Shin, Floyd Short, Jennifer Silver, Terry Sinclair, Greg Sinibaldi, Tishawna Smith, David Snyder, Debi Solberg, Gary Somers, Jim Stallings, Susan Stern, Jared Strote, Cleo Subido , Ben Stubbs, Jesse Tapp, Dorothy Teeter, the late Tom Torrell, Nicole Urban, Terry Valenzuela, Jeremy Ward, Sam Warren, Rebecca Watson (who provided several figures for the book), Roy Waugh, Douglas Weaver, Mary Weirich, Barbara Welles, Lindsay White, Roger White, Adrian Whorton, Mary Won, Lihua Yin, and Jean Yoshihara. Special acknowledgment goes to a handful of people. First of all, my thanks to Leonard Cobb and Michael Copass; our EMS system and its high standards would not exist without these two remarkable individuals, and I could not wish for better mentors , teachers, and col­ leagues. Another special thanks to Tom Hearne, who for three decades supported and nurtured the partnership between University of Washington faculty members and the EMS Division of Public Health—Seattle and King County. After Tom’s untimely death in 2010, Michele Plorde stepped in to keep a steady course as interim director. Beginning in 2011, Jim Fogarty’s leadership continues the strong bond between the University and the EMS Division. I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to Sheri Rowe, who coor­ dinated our research projects for thirty years, and to Linda Becker, who has managed the cardiac arrest surveillance system for thirty-six years (and who provided the data from King County that are used in the book); we have shared much as we’ve watched our sys­ tem evolve from its infancy to its current maturity . I am fortunate to work side by side with Mike Helbock, who has transformed EMS education in King County; I admire his skills as a master educator, and I value his experience and wisdom. Hendrika Meischke has taught me the skills of health services research; her social science perspective has added a new dimension to our research, for which I am grateful. I am lucky to count as the closest of my colleagues Tom Rea and Peter Kudenchuk, two physicians whom I greatly respect; Tom and Peter represent the next generation of researchers, educators, and medical directors who will maintain and even improve the culture of excellence in our system, and I am confident that they will help define the standard of care for resus­ citation in the coming decades. A very special thanks to Tore Laerdal, a fellow traveler in the quest to reverse sudden death, for unwavering support and friendship...

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