Central Park Medical Unit
Encyclopedia

About CPMU

The Central Park Medical Unit (CPMU) is an all-volunteer ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...

 service that provides completely free emergency medical
Medical emergency
A medical emergency is an injury or illness that is acute and poses an immediate risk to a person's life or long term health. These emergencies may require assistance from another person, who should ideally be suitably qualified to do so, although some of these emergencies can be dealt with by the...

 service to patrons of Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...

 and the surrounding streets, in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, United States. In addition to its three ambulances, CPMU also operates a rapid-response bike
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....

 patrol, particularly during major events such as the New York City Marathon
New York City Marathon
The New York City Marathon is a major annual marathon that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is one of the largest marathons in the world, with 45,103 finishers in 2010...

, the 1998 Goodwill Games
Goodwill Games
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...

, and concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...

s in Central Park (like the 2003 Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...

 Concert and the 2008 Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...

 Concert). CPMU has also helped the greater New York City community during the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...

 on the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...

, the American Airlines Flight 587
American Airlines Flight 587
American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300, crashed into the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens, a borough of New York City, New York, shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport on November 12, 2001. This is the second deadliest U.S...

 crash, and the 2003 North America blackout.

Founded in 1975, CPMU's 150 certified emergency medical technician
Emergency medical technician
Emergency Medical Technician or Ambulance Technician are terms used in some countries to denote a healthcare provider of emergency medical services...

s respond to dozens of calls on a daily basis during their hours of operation. Many of these calls are true medical emergencies resulting in life saving care -- which represents well in excess of two and a half million dollars in FREE care to the people of New York City. CPMU's ambulances have the fastest response time — consistently under three minutes — of any ambulance corps in the state of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. CPMU has been recognized by numerous city and state officials, including citations from the New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...

, Fire Department, Office of Emergency Management
NYC Office of Emergency Management
The New York City Office of Emergency Management was originally formed in 1996 as part of the Mayor's Office under Rudolph W. Giuliani. By a vote of city residents in 2001 it became an independent agency, headed by a Commissioner who reports to the Mayor. In 2006 the office was reorganized under...

, and Department of Parks and Recreation
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
The City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation is the department of government of the City of New York responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecological diversity of the city's natural areas, and furnishing recreational opportunities for city's...

.

Members of CPMU come from all walks of life, ranging from college students to retirees. As one of the few opportunities to volunteer as an EMT in Manhattan, CPMU trains recent EMT graduates in the practical application of their skills. CPMU is completely funded by private donations, relying on the support of corporations and individuals and receiving no financial support from the city
Government of New York City
The government of New York City is organized under the City Charter and provides for a "strong" mayor-council system. The government of New York is more centralized than that of most other U.S...

, state, or federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

s.

History

CPMU was founded in 1975 after some local New Yorkers realized a need for rapid medical response in Central Park. Ambulance response times could take as long as 90 minutes in the park, which was not helped by the fact that ambulance crews did not have much navigational knowledge of the park's geography. CPMU was originally founded as the "Central Park Medical Rescue Squad."

The Central Park Medical Rescue Squad was primarily a first response unit that consisted of approximately twenty volunteers, a few personal bicycles and a retrofitted Ford van used to transport crews and equipment. Later a stretcher was added to the van to allow for transport of patients when city EMS was not available. In 1976, the Central Park Medical Rescue Squad purchased a used type II ambulance from Lenox Hill Hospital. This allowed them to become a full fledged, transporting emergency medical unit. In 1979, the rescue squad incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation and was renamed the "Central Park Medical Unit."

External links

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