[00:00:11]
I AM THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND AS OF, UM, 39 MINUTES AGO, I BECAME THE LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITY FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.DON'T, DON'T CLAP FOR ME YET, BECAUSE I AM SCARED.
THE FIRST THING I'M SCARED ABOUT IS, OF COURSE, THE NEXT PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY IS GONNA BE MY FIRST, BUT SO MANY PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM, NOT, UM, TO MENTION MR. DR.
PURSE, WHOSE PERSONAL PHONE NUMBER I HAVE, ARE GONNA HELP US THROUGH THAT.
BUT I'M MOSTLY AFRAID BECAUSE AS I LOOK AT HIM, UM, I WONDER IF BY THE END OF MY CAREER I WILL ALSO BE BALD.
SO, IN ALL HONESTY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US AT THIS CELEBRATION OF A LEGACY, UM, THAT WAS CO-HOSTED BY MAYOR WHITMEYER, UM, OFFICE OF SPECIAL EVENTS, THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT, THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT, AND THE LIBRARY, THE HOUSTON LIBRARY.
UM, WHILE WE ARE CELEBRATING A LEGACY, BECAUSE WE HAVE A LIVING LEGEND IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD, AND DR.
PER, WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SERVICE OF 29 YEARS TO THE DEPARTMENT.
SO TO KICK US OFF, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THE HONOR GUARD, UM, WITH THE PRESENTATION OF THE UNITED STATES FLAG.
SO IF YOU WOULD PLEASE RISE WITH THE USE OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY, WE ARE ABLE TO BETTER COMMUNICATE ON FIRE GROUND EMERGENCY SCENES.
IN JUST A FEW MOMENTS, YOU WILL HEAR A FAREWELL MESSAGE AND A HAPPY RETIREMENT BROADCAST OVER OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT RADIO DISPATCH CITYWIDE, PLEASE STAND BY.
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WE, THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT, WISH YOU DR. DAVID FIRST AND YOUR FAMILY A VERY HAPPY RETIREMENT THIS 30TH DAY OF APRIL, 2026.WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR 29 YEARS, SIX MONTHS, AND 24 DAYS OF DEDICATED LEADERSHIP AND LOYAL SERVICE THAT YOU PROVIDED TO THE CITIZENS OF HOUSTON AND THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT AS MEDICAL DIRECTOR.
PER CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ON YOUR RETIREMENT.
FROM ALL OF US, YOUR FRIENDS AND FELLOW COWORKERS OF THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT, GOOD LUCK.
HOUSTON, ON BEHALF OF THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT ON OUR GUARD, I THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO BE PART OF THIS MONUMENT IS OCCASION AND ENJOY YOUR RETIREMENT, SIR.
DETAIL READY, FACE FORWARD MARCH.
HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT, HONOR GUARD.
UM, AND NOW WE HAVE SOMEBODY WHO DOES NOT NEED TO BE INTRODUCED BUT DOWN.
UM, WE HAVE MAYOR JOHN WHITMEYER HERE TO OFFER REMARKS AND A PROCLAMATION.
YOU, I WAS GONNA SAY, PLEASE SIT DOWN,
TRAN'S DOING SUCH A GREAT JOB, BUT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WORK ON HER INTRODUCTION OF THE MAYOR
'CAUSE SHE KNOWS SHE'S SUPPOSED TO MENTION MY NAME AT LEAST THREE TIMES.
IT'S A, UH, OCCASION THAT WE NEED IN OUR LIVES BECAUSE SO MANY OF US, I'M LOOKING AT DIRECTORS AND CIVIL SERVANTS AND CITIZENS THAT WORK ON CHALLENGES EACH AND EVERY DAY ON PROBLEMS. I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FINGERS ON MY HAND TO TALK ABOUT THE ISSUES THAT I'VE WORKED ON TODAY.
SO THIS IS WHY WE ARE SORT JOYFUL TO BE HERE AND GET TO WITNESS SOMETHING THAT HAS WORKED SO WELL FOR SO LONG, FOR SO MANY PEOPLE, DR.
PER WE TRULY DO NOT WANT TO LOSE YOU.
AND THAT'S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE.
BUT YOU ARE SO WELL RESPECTED AND NOT ONLY HOUSTONIANS ARE HEALTHY AND HAVE BEEN TAKEN THROUGH CHALLENGES AND EMERGENCIES, BUT OUR REGION HAS, AND I OFTEN TALK ABOUT THE 700,000 PEOPLE THAT COME TO HOUSTON EACH DAY TO WORK AND ATTEND EVENTS.
AND I USUALLY TALK OF IT IN A BUDGETARY MANNER THAT WE HAVE TO PROVIDE FOR 'EM WHILE THEY'RE HERE.
WE, WE APPRECIATE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND WHAT THEY BRING TO OUR CITY, OUR DIVERSITY, BUT THEN THEY GO BACK TO THEIR SUBURBS AND THEY DON'T KNOW DURING THAT DAY, ALONG WITH 2.3 MILLION HOUSTONIANS THAT RESIDE HERE AND THE 700,000 THAT CAME HERE TODAY, DR.
PER OVERSEES THEIR SAFETY AND HEALTH.
THAT'S A HELL OF A, THAT'S A HELL OF A MISSION.
IT'S THE SIZE OF ATLANTA, JUST THOSE THAT ENTER OUR CITY EACH AND EVERY DAY.
AND I'VE KNOWN ABOUT YOU AS A SENATOR WORKING WITH THE FIRE AND FIRST RESPONDERS, BUT YOU AND I KNOW WHERE WE REALLY BONDED SHORTLY AFTER BEING ELECTED.
YOU AND I HAD BREAKFAST AT YALE STREET GRILL IN THE HEIGHTS AND YOU WERE HELPING ME THROUGH ORIENTATION.
AND SO I STARTED LIKE I OFTEN DID WHEN I GOT HERE.
ASK QUESTIONS OF FIRE CHIEFS OF STEVE
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WILLIAMS. YOU GET NOTHING BUT RAVE REVIEWS AND THE NICE THING FROM A PERSONAL STANDPOINT, YOU'RE STILL IN GOOD HEALTH, SHARP.AND SO I DON'T EVEN LOOK AT THIS AS A RETIREMENT OR LEAVING THE CITY.
IT'S A NEW BEGINNING BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA TAKE YOUR TALENT AND PASSION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH TO YOUR NEXT ASSIGNMENT.
SO ON BEHALF OF ALL THE CITY EMPLOYEES, YOUR COLLEAGUES, I SEE SWAT OFFICERS HERE.
THEY KNOW YOU ALWAYS HAD THEIR BACK COVERED AND I WOULD SEE YOU AT SEA, BUT THIS IS ONE HECK OF AN OPPORTUNITY THAT ALL OF US CELEBRATE SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY GREAT IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, OUR EMPLOYEES DIRECTORS, AND WE'RE A BETTER FOR YOUR SERVICE.
SO THEREFORE, AND I'VE GOT A PROCLAMATION, BUT IT REALLY JUST KIND OF HIGHLIGHTS THE HEALTHCARE, THE CHALLENGES, EMERGENCIES THAT YOU'VE GOT US THROUGH.
THEREFORE, I, JOHN WHITMEYER WITH HIS PROCLAMATION MAYOR OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON, HEREBY PROCLAIM APRIL 30TH, 2026, IS DR. DAVID PER DAY IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, AND I WILL SAY YOUR NAME TWICE.
UM, SO NOW I WILL INTRODUCE FIRE CHIEF JO, UH, TOM MUNOZ, IF YOU'LL PLEASE COME OFFER SOME REMARKS.
WELL, YOU KNOW, OUT OF AFFECTION, I WOULD ALWAYS CALL HIM DOC.
BUT NOW A GREAT MAN STANDS BEFORE ME.
PER, SO REMEMBER WHEN HE FIRST GOT HERE, WE WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PRONOUNCE THE NAME PERCY PER, SO WE FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT, SIR, BUT THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF THE HFD FAMILY.
UM, YOU WERE AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR FAMILY.
YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE HAS MADE THIS DEPARTMENT WORLD CLASS THE TENACITY.
YOU RAISED A BAR THAT NOT TOO MANY PEOPLE COULD RAISE.
AND THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT FOR OUR DEPARTMENT.
WHEN I FIRST WALKED IN, I SAID, MAN, THIS MUST BE A DIGNITARY.
'CAUSE I SAW A SWAT TEAM AND I GOT A LITTLE NERVOUS, BUT THEN I REMEMBERED YOU WERE PART OF THAT SWAT TEAM.
AND THAT'S WHEN WE STARTED REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATING EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR US.
WE ALWAYS HAVE, AGAIN, OVERACHIEVER, WE TALKED ABOUT WORLD CLASS SIDE, YOU KNOW, AND ONE OF THE KEY THINGS AS MAYOR WHITMEYER HAS ALWAYS SAID, GO ABOVE AND BEYOND, RIGHT? WHEN HE SAYS THE PHRASE GET TO WORK, THAT IS THE EPITOME.
AND WE TALKED ABOUT AMAZING CAREERS.
I WAS LOOKING BACK, TRYING TO, JUST SO YOU KNOW, AI SHA GPT DID PUT A LOT OF STUFF ON YOU.
I HOPE YOU KNOW THAT, RIGHT? AND IT WAS LIKE TWO, THREE PAGES.
SO WE WERE TRYING TO, BUT WITH THAT SAID, SIR, UM, WE'RE GONNA MISS YOU.
THE HALLS AREN'T GONNA BE THE SAME.
YOU WERE NOT AFRAID TO BE THE INNOVATOR I AM GONNA MISS.
SO WE ALWAYS GOT TOGETHER AT THE SAME TIME, ABOUT SEVEN, WHEN WE'D BE PULLING IN SIX 30 OR SEVEN.
I HAVE A HABIT OF DOING LIKE SOME CALLS AT SIX 30 AND WE'D WALK IN TOGETHER AND WE WOULD SIT THERE IN HIS OFFICE.
AND, UH, REALLY JUST, I WOULD ADMIRE WHEN I WAS LOOKING AROUND OF ALL THE GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND I REALIZED THAT'S WHAT A LEGEND LOOKS LIKE AND A LEGACY.
AND SO WHAT I DID LEARN THAT I'VE NEVER BEEN A HOCKEY GAME, BUT I DID LEARN THROUGH DR.
PER THAT HE WAS A HUGE HOCKEY FAN AND WE WERE TRYING TO BUY HIM.
UM, I, I LOVE COLLECTIVE SPORTS MEMORABILIA.
I WENT TO OUR VENDOR AND HE SAYS, TOM, I I DON'T, IN TEXAS, WE DON'T SELL HOCKEY MEMORABILIA.
SO HE SAYS, BUT I GOT A COUPLE OF HERE THAT YOU MIGHT LIKE.
AND SO WE HAD A JOKE GOING ON THAT I SAID, DOC, ALL HE SAID WAS THAT THE GUY'S NAME IS DOM PERION.
HE PROBABLY IS A HOCKEY PLAYER, RIGHT?
[00:15:01]
AND WITH THAT SAID, WE'VE THOUGHT ABOUT HARD, LONG AND HARD WHAT TO GET YOU.BUT THIS, WHAT YOU'VE ACCOMPLISHED COULD NOT HAVE BEEN DONE AS YOU KNOW, WITHOUT BEVERLY.
SO AT THIS POINT, I'M LOOKING AT THE CHIEFS, IF Y'ALL CAN PLEASE COME UP HERE.
CHIEFS LOOKING AT YOU
UM, BEVERLY, YOU CAN PLEASE OR WE WILL READ IT TO YOU AND GIVE IT TO YOU.
WE STARTED A TRADITION WHEN I WAS BLESSED TO BE APPOINTED BY ER WHITMEYER, A CATE, A HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT SPOUSE, CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION, I THINK IN THE FIRST CIVILIAN DR PER THAT WE'VE GIVEN THIS TO YOU.
BUT LIKE I SAID, YOU'RE PART OF THAT HOD FAMILY AS YOUR HUSBAND GAVE HIMSELF TO EASE THE BURDENS OF OTHERS IN PUBLIC.
WE EXPRESS A SINCERE APPRECIATION FOR YOUR SUPPORT, YOUR SACRIFICE, AND UNDERSTANDING DURING YOUR HUSBAND'S YEARS OF SERVICE, WHICH INCLUDED PLAIN SWAT.
SO WITH THAT SAID, THIS IS FOR YOU ALONG WITH A COIN, A WORLD CLASS COIN THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED.
AND YOU KNOW, THE PROCLAMATION THAT MAYOR PUT OUT, MAYOR WHITMEYER.
BUT THIS IS PRESENTED TO YOU FOR YOUR OUTSTANDING SERVICE.
WE TRULY EXPRESS OUR SINCERE APPRECIATION.
YOU ALL WILL BE PART OF THE HOD FAMILY DOC, YOU KNOW THAT.
BUT ONE OF THE FUNER THINGS THAT WE DECIDED TO GET, IF YOU CAN COME UP TO THE STAGE, SIR, IS WE ALWAYS KNEW THAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED A HELMET.
SO WE GOT YOU
THE OTHER THING TOO, DOC, IS UM, WE TALKED LONG AND HARD OF WHAT TO GET.
AND WHEN I WAS TALKING TO DR PER, HE GOES, MAN, THE MIRACLE ON ICE, I'M THINKING, WHY DOES THIS MAN LIKE A DISNEY SHOW? BUT THEN I REALIZED THE MIRACLE OF RICE WAS THE OLYMPICS WHEN THEY BEAT THE RUSSIANS.
AND SO WE, WE GOT THIS FOR YOU.
UM, SO JUST A SHORT STORY HE DID, UM, IT'S JOHN HARRINGTON, NUMBER 28.
HE SET UP THE WINNING PUCK WHEN WE BEAT RUSSIA.
AND IN HIS, UH, ALL THESE MANY TALENTS, HE PLAYED HOCKEY AND HE SET UP THE WINNING PUCK.
WHEN WE BEAT HPD ON THE HOCKEY GAME,
SO, BUT WE WANT TO PRESENT THIS, BEEN SIGNED BY THE, UH, COMMAND.
BUT THE LAST ONE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HIS SABER WAS, BUT WE GOT YOU A HALL OF FAMER GRANT FUR.
HE, HE WAS A WE GOT THAT RIGHT.
BUT IT'S AN AUTOGRAPH WITH HALL OF FAME.
'CAUSE YOU ARE A HALL OF FAMER DOC.
ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU CHIEF MUNOZ.
UM, SO NOW I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE CAPTAIN KEN CAMPBELL AND LIEUTENANT JEREMY MEDINA FROM THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT TACTICAL OPERATIONS DIVISION.
UM, SO COME UP GUYS, IT'S AN, IT IS AN HONOR TO BE ABLE TO, UH, CELEBRATE YOUR RETIREMENT.
AND, UH, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING THERE FOR OUR TEAM AND, UH, WHETHER IT'S IN TRAINING MANY A LATE NIGHTS OUT THERE AT THE BEARCAT AND, AND YOU HANGING OUT AND ENSURING WE'RE SAFE, ALSO THE CITIZENS SAFE, UH, FOR ANYONE THAT MIGHT GET HURT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, UH, THE, THE SWAT DOC PROGRAM IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO US.
AND, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE MOST GRATEFUL AND, AND, AND, AND APPRECIATIVE OF, UH, KEEPING THAT GOING AND KEEPING IT STRONG.
UH, DOC SCHULTZ, DOC PATEL, COME
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ON.THESE, THESE DOCKS ARE SO IMPORTANT, IMPERATIVE TO OUR SAFETY AND EVERYONE'S SAFETY.
AND THEY MAKE IT OUT AT NIGHT.
THEY MAKE IT OUT IN THE SCENES.
THEY'RE WITH US THROUGH THICK AND THIN AND, UH, WE'RE MOST APPRECIATIVE OF THAT.
SO, UM, WE, WE HAVE THIS PLAQUE, AND I'LL HAVE YOU COME UP IN A MINUTE, BUT I WAS GONNA GIVE Y'ALL A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON IT.
SO THIS PIECE OF BRASS HERE HAS ACTUALLY BEEN CREATED AND CONSTRUCTED BY OUR, UH, OUR EXPLOSIVE BREACHERS.
AND SO IT, UH, WE HAVE A STENCIL THAT COMES ON AND WE USE A A BREACH CHARGE.
AND WE'RE ABLE TO EMBED SWAT THE SWAT LOGO INTO IT.
AND, UH, YOUR NUMBERS 1 6 7, UH, AS YOUR NUMBERS FROM ON FROM YOUR SWAT.
UM, THANKS FOR HELPING ME OUT THROUGH SWAT BASIC, UH, BOTH OF Y'ALL.
ALL Y'ALL KEEPING ME ALIVE THROUGH THAT TRAINING IS PROBABLY THE MOST GRUELING AND DOC PER, HE'S ACTUALLY BEEN THROUGH IT AS WELL TOO, UH, BACK WHEN HE FIRST STARTED ON.
AND SO, UM, AN APPRECIATION OF YOUR DEDICATED AND OIL SERVICE TO THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENTS.
UH, DETAIL, UH, UH, WE JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND THEN, UH, LIEUTENANT BRI, YOU GONNA GIVE A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON THE, UH, SWAT WINGS, IF YOU WOULD? YEP.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THERE'S TWO SETS OF SWAT WINGS AND DR.
PER IS GONNA BE ONE OF THE VERY FEW PEOPLE THAT GET TO WEAR THE ONES WITH THE WREATH.
SO WE'RE GONNA TAKE THIS TIME TO PRESENT HIS 10 PLUS YEARS OF SERVICE SWAT WINGS, UH, AS, UH, AS ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF SWAT HERE, A VERY INTEGRAL, UH, COMPONENT TO THE TEAM AND HAS HELPED US GROW IMMENSELY.
ALSO, ANOTHER THING THAT WE LIKE TO PUT ON THESE PLAQUES IS, UM, A BIBLE VERSE THAT KIND OF EMBODIES THIS SWAT SPIRIT.
AND I'M GONNA READ THAT OFF FOR YOU 'CAUSE I THINK THIS REPRESENTS YOU VERY WELL, BECAUSE I HEARD THE VOICE OF THE LORD SAYING, WHO SHALL I SEND? WHO WILL GO AS FAR, UH, WHO WILL GO FOR US? THEN SAID, I, HERE I AM, SEND ME.
SO DOC, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR DEDICATED SERVICE TO THIS TEAM, TO THE CITIZENS OF HOUSTON.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE FOR US.
ALL RIGHT, SO, UM, I HAVE NEXT TO, UH, INTRODUCE COURTNEY PURSE, WHO IS DR.
PIERCE'S DAUGHTER, ALSO A SURVEILLANCE INVESTIGATOR AT THE CITY OF HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS.
AND, UM, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT COURTNEY PURSE WORKED AT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT UNTIL I RAN INTO HER AND I, I SAID, HEY, YOUR LAST NAME IS FAMILIAR, YOU RELATED TO DR.
AND HE WAS LIKE, YES, I'M HER DAUGHTER.
AND THEN ABOUT A MONTH AGO I SAW DR.
PURSE AT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND ASKED WHY HE WAS THERE AND HE WAS THERE TO TAKE HIS DAUGHTER TO LUNCH.
SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS THE SWEETEST THING.
BUT HERE'S COURTNEY TO OFFER SOME REMARKS.
AS MY LOVELY DIRECTOR JUST SAID, IF WE HAVEN'T MET BEFORE, MY NAME IS COURTNEY.
PIERCE'S YOUNGEST DAUGHTER, AND I'M ALSO A VERY LOUD, VERY PROUD MEMBER OF THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT FAMILY.
THERE'S A LOT OF US HERE TONIGHT.
UH, I'LL BE HONEST, DR. TRAN KIND OF STOLE MY FIRST LINE.
I ALSO WAS GONNA OPEN WITH A BALL JOKE.
UM, AND THEN THE FIRE CHIEF RECOGNIZED MY MOM WITH THE, UH, SPOUSE CERTIFICATE FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
I WAS GONNA RECOGNIZE HER AS WELL.
SO THANKS A LOT GUYS FOR RUINING MY SPEECH ALREADY.
UM, WHEN I WAS FIRST VERY GRACIOUSLY GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ONE OF TONIGHT'S SPEAKERS, AT FIRST I WAS REALLY EXCITED.
'CAUSE WHO DOESN'T WANT TO COME INTO A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE WHO LOVE AND ADORE YOUR DAD AND GET TO SHARE THAT LOVE ABOUT HIM? UM, AND THEN I GOT A LITTLE CONFLICTED BECAUSE ON THE ONE HAND, I'M A GIRL WHO LOVES HER DAD AND I HAVE THE BEST DAD IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.
AND OF ALL THE PERKS THAT CAME GROWING UP AS DR.
PERS DAUGHTER, ALL THE RIDES ON FIRE ENGINES AS A LITTLE KID, AND GETTING TO WATCH HIM THROW OUT THE, UH, FIRST PITCH AT THE ASTROS GAMES, WHICH WAS ALWAYS THE BEST.
UM, THE REAL PRIVILEGE IN MY LIFE WAS GETTING TO BE THE LITTLE GIRL WAITING BY THE FRONT DOOR, LOOKING OUT THAT WINDOW, HOPING TO SEE THAT BIG UGLY RED EMS TRUCK COMING IN THE DRIVEWAY, BECAUSE THAT MEANT THAT MY DAD WAS HOME.
AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT NOW AT 29 AND A HALF YEARS OLD, HE'S STILL THE FIRST PERSON I WANNA CALL EVERY DAY, WHETHER TO TELL HIM WHAT'S GOING ON WITH ME OR ASK ME WHAT'S, OR ASK HIM WHAT'S GOING ON WITH HIM.
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ON THE DAYS THAT I FEEL A LITTLE LOST OR LESS THAN CAPABLE.AND THOSE CALLS, HE ALWAYS ENDS THE SAME WAY.
HE SAYS, COURTNEY, I LOVE YOU WITH ALL OF MY HEART.
I BELIEVE IN YOU WITH ALL OF MY SOUL.
YOU'LL KNOW WHAT TO DO NOW, GET BACK TO WORK.
AND THEN ON THE OTHER HAND, MY PASSION IS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND I'VE SEEN AND FELT AND EXPERIENCED THE IMPACT THAT HIS CAREER HAS MADE IN MY FIELD.
I'VE SEEN THE AMAZING WORK HE'S DONE FIRSTHAND AND HOW IT'S IMPACTED OUR COMMUNITIES AND CHANGED THE WAY THAT WE DO OUR JOBS TO DO HIM AS BEST AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
AND WHILE I DON'T HAVE THAT OCCUPATIONAL PER UH, PERSPECTIVE FROM THE EMS SIDE, I DID GROW UP COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY IT.
SO, UM, THERE WAS NO GETTING OUT OF WITNESSING THAT WORK EITHER.
IT WOULD BE SO SILLY OF ME TO COME UP HERE AND, AND I'M GONNA BE HONEST, MY PASSION FOR EPIDEMIOLOGY IS, IS VERY MUCH SO THANKS TO SOME OF THE OTHER GREAT MINDS IN THE ROOM TONIGHT.
I WON'T NAME Y'ALL, SO I WON'T EMBARRASS YOU, BUT THEY'RE HERE AND THEY'RE AMAZING.
BUT IT REALLY WOULD BE SO SILLY OF ME TO COME UP HERE AND PRETEND THAT I DIDN'T PURSUE A CAREER IN PUBLIC SERVICE BECAUSE OF MY DAD.
AND REALLY, IT'S PROBABLY NOT FOR THE REASONS YOU WOULD ASSUME.
I I DIDN'T WANT TO GROW UP TO BE JUST LIKE HIM.
HE DIDN'T REALLY MAKE BEING A CITY EMPLOYEE LOOK ALL THAT GLAMOROUS
AND I DON'T THINK I EVER MET ANYONE FROM ANY CITY DEPARTMENT THAT EVER LOOKED AT ALL WELL RESTED.
BUT THE REAL REASON THAT I WENT INTO PUBLIC SERVICE, I THINK BECAUSE OF MY DAD IS BECAUSE HE HAS SPENT MY LIFE SHOWING ME THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HAVING A PASSION FOR SOMETHING AND HAVING THE WILLINGNESS AND THE COURAGE TO SHOW UP AND DO SOMETHING WITH IT FOR SOMETHING BIGGER AND BETTER THAN YOURSELF.
AND THAT'S THE GREATEST GIFT HE COULD HAVE EVER GIVEN ME, BECAUSE THAT'S THE KEY.
THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHY SOME OF US HERE, THAT CALL TO SERVICE AND WHY THOSE OF US THAT DID CHOSE TO ANSWER IT.
AND FOR THAT, DAD, I, I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH.
AND WOODROW WILSON ACTUALLY SAID IT BEST ONCE HE SAID THAT THERE IS NO HIGHER RELIGION THAN HUMAN SERVICE BECAUSE WORKING FOR THE COMMON GOOD, THAT'S THE GREATEST C CRED OF ALL.
AND I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM TONIGHT WHO CAN AGREE WITH THAT.
SO I'LL BE HONEST, AND I I DIDN'T WANNA BRING THIS UP BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANNA MAKE ANYONE FEEL BAD.
I'VE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE COMING TO MY DESK EVER SINCE HIS RETIREMENT WAS ANNOUNCED, ASKING, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO WITHOUT HIM? HOW WILL WE GO ON? WHAT WILL WE EVER DO WITHOUT DR PER, I'LL BE HONEST, I FOUND THAT A LITTLE FRUSTRATING AND A LITTLE CONFUSING.
UM, BECAUSE I'M LOOKING AT A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME SERVANT'S HEART THAT HE HAS THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS HERE WITH US TONIGHT.
AND IF WE'RE REALLY LUCKY, THEN MAYBE JUST MAYBE SOME OF THAT FUTURE IS AT HOME RIGHT NOW, WAITING BY YOUR FRONT DOOR, LOOKING OUT THE FRONT WINDOW, HOPING TO SEE YOUR CAR PULL UP.
REMEMBER THAT DAD, THERE'S SO MUCH MORE THAT I COULD SAY TO EXPLAIN TO ALL THESE AMAZING PEOPLE, THE INCREDIBLE FATHER THAT YOU ARE, AND ROLE MODEL NOT JUST IN PUBLIC HEALTH, BUT IN EMS AND HEALTHCARE AND BEYOND.
AND TODAY IT'S MY PLEASURE TO GET TO SAY TO YOU ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND ALL OF MY FELLOW PUBLIC SERVANTS OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON, I LOVE YOU WITH ALL OF MY HEART.
I BELIEVE IN YOU WITH ALL OF MY SOUL.
WE KNOW WHAT TO DO AND WE'RE GONNA KEEP DOING IT TOGETHER FOR HOUSTON FOR YOU.
OOH, WHERE CAN I SEE WHAT I'M READING? UM, THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL, COURTNEY.
PURSE TELLS ALL OF US THAT WHEN HE TELL, TALKS TO US ON THE PHONE TOO.
UM, BUT THANK YOU FOR THOSE REMARKS.
SO, UH, THE NEXT PERSON THAT I HAVE TO INTRODUCE IS DR.
CHRIS SOUDERS WITH THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT.
HE'S THE ASSOCIATE MEDICAL DIRECTOR AND HAS BEEN DR.
PURSES, MD TWO FOR 24 GOING ON 25 YEARS.
SOUDERS, WE, I WON'T MAKE YOU CRY, EVEN THOUGH WE SPENT MANY LONG NIGHTS TOGETHER,
AND AS IT'S NOW, UH, 6 0 9, NO LONGER A CITY EMPLOYEE, WHICH MEANS YOU'RE NO LONGER MY BOSS.
[00:30:01]
SO, SO I WILL PROCEED IN AN UNCOMFORTABLE AND WHAT STILL FEELS HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE MANNER.AND IF I CAN REFER TO YOU AS DAVE FROM HERE ON OUT
PER IN 1996, UM, WHEN I ARRANGED A BRIEF INTRODUCTION, UH, WITH HIM WHILE I WAS AT BAYLOR MEDICAL SCHOOL AS A MEDICAL STUDENT.
AND I REMEMBER GOING TO THE OLD STATION ONE, WHICH WAS THE HEADQUARTERS AT THE TIME, FEELING LIKE AN INNOCENT LITTLE KINDERGARTNER AS I APPROACHED HIS DESK AND THRONE THAT HE STOOD, YOU KNOW, BEHIND AND WAS GREATLY IMPRESSED.
AND I WENT OFF TO DO RESIDENCY AND CHOSE TO COME BACK TO HOUSTON FIVE YEARS LATER IN 2001, UM, AS AN EMS FELLOW TWO FOLLOW BEHIND HIM AND LEARN HOW TO BE AN EMS MEDICAL DIRECTOR.
NOW, MOST OF YOU KNOW THAT HE GIVES THE IMPRESSION THAT HE'S A VERY SERIOUS AND FORMAL INDIVIDUAL, AND YOU'RE MOSTLY CORRECT, BUT HE DOES HAVE A FUN SIDE THAT IS IMPORTANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE.
NOW WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE JOY HE HAD IN MARCH OF 2020, SHUTTING DOWN THE RODEO AS WE REALIZED COVID WAS A PUBLIC HEALTH THREAT, SOMETHING WHICH I'M SURE MADE HIM, UH, AND HIS WIFE FOREVER INELIGIBLE FOR BEST NEIGHBOR IN HIS CLEAR LAKE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, LET'S NOT FORGET YOUR FUN GIG OF BEING A SWAT MEDIC AND REPELLING SLASH FALLING OUT OF A HELICOPTER.
UH, SO FAST YOU BROKE YOUR ANKLE AND MAYBE PART OF YOUR NECK.
UM, AND THEN ONE FUN TIME, THE LAST ONE I'LL GIVE AS AN EXAMPLE, AND FOR EVERYONE IN THE ROOM, THIS IS OVER A DECADE AGO.
SO I THINK ANY TERM OF PUNISHMENT SHOULD BE FORGIVEN.
UH, DR PER MYSELF AND DR. SCHULTZ, WHO WAS JUST UP HERE WITH THE SWAP MEDICS, ATTENDED THE NATIONAL NMSP MEETING IN NEW ORLEANS.
THIS IS THE EMS PHYSICIAN MEETING FOR THE NATION.
AND AFTER LUNCH ON THE LAST DAY OF THE CONFERENCE, THERE WERE NO SESSIONS OF ANY REMOTE INTEREST THAT TO US AS EMS DOCTORS FROM HOUSTON, THEY HAD TOPICS LIKE BEING A MEDICAL DIRECTOR IN A RURAL SYSTEM WITH TWO HOUR TRANSPORTS, OR YOU KNOW, HOW TO BE AN EFFECTIVE MEDICAL DIRECTOR IN A SYSTEM WITH NO BUDGETARY AUTHORITY.
THINGS THAT WERE JUST COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT FOR HOUSTON DOCTORS.
SCH AND I WERE OF THE OPINION THAT, UM, WE NEEDED TO GO OUT AND WE COULDN'T LET BOURBON STREET NOT GO UNVISITED DURING THIS CONFERENCE IN NEW ORLEANS.
AND SO WE WERE SUPER PARANOID AND SCARED.
WE WENT DOWN TO THE LOBBY, WE COULD NOT LET DR.
WE CASED OUT THE LOBBY, WE HUNG AROUND LIKE WE WERE CHITCHATTING WITH PEOPLE, AND WE EVENTUALLY SNUCK OUT UNNOTICED.
SO WE ARE THEN HEADING DOWN, THIS IS TRUE, WE ARE HEADED DOWN BOURBON STREET, LOOKING FOR THE, PROBABLY THE CLOSEST PLACE TO GET A HURRICANE OF THE ALCOHOL VARIETY, NOT THE, NOT THE ONES WE ARE MOSTLY FAMILIAR WITH.
AND IT WASN'T FIVE MINUTES AS WE WERE WALKING DOWN WHEN WE UNEXPECTEDLY ON THE SAME SIDE OF THE SIDEWALK, HAD OPPOSITE CROSS PATHS WITH DR.
BURRS AND HIS WIFE
AND THEN WE AVERTED OUR EYES AND WE CONTINUED ON WALKING WITH OUR ATTENDED PLAN.
AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT THEY DID.
SO I CAN TELL YOU HE HAS A FUN SPIRIT INSIDE OF HIM.
IT COULD BE A FUN GUY AS WELL.
SO I DO WANT TO TOUCH ON ONE ASPECT THAT HASN'T BEEN MENTIONED HERE TONIGHT.
HONESTLY SPEAKING, I DON'T KNOW IF DR.
PURSE IS A GOOD MEDICAL DOCTOR,
I'VE NEVER WORKED WITH HIM IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM, RIGHT? I'VE ONLY SEEN HIM IN THE OFFICE IN MEETINGS IN THE STREETS OF HOUSTON AND NEW ORLEANS, UH, OR AT THE GRB, THE CONVENTION CENTER THAT SHALL NEVER BE A CITY SHELTER, WHICH IS ALWAYS THE CITY SHELTER
UM, BUT WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT ISN'T THE PRACTICE OF HIS MEDICINE, BUT HIS MENTORSHIP OF EMS FELLOWS AND WITH REGARD TO MENTORING, NOBODY RISES ABOVE YOU IN THAT REGARD.
NOW, MAYBE I'M NAIVE AND MYOPIC BECAUSE DAVE, DR.
PER IS THE ONLY BOSS I'VE EVER HAD.
UH, AFTER MY TRAINING FOR THE 24 YEARS, I'VE HAD A REAL GROWNUP JOB AND I, I COULD JUST END MY SPEECH WITH LIKE THE MOST POWERFUL ENDORSE ENDORSEMENT THAT I CAN IMAGINE.
THAT SOMEHOW WITH LOTS OF PATIENCE IN A GENTLE HAND AND SOMETIMES A FIRMER HAND, HE MOLDED ME INTO AN EMS POSITION BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO GET MYSELF FIRED IN THE PROCESS, WHICH IS AN ACHIEVEMENT.
BUT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO KNOW THAT MORE THAN HE HELPED I, IN MY OPINION, THE PUBLIC, THE FIREFIGHTERS, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, MOST OF ALL, HE HELPED US, THOSE DOCTORS THAT TRAINED UNDER HIM AND WORKED WITH HIM TO LEARN HOW TO BE BETTER EMS PHYSICIANS THROUGH THIS TRAINING TO BECOME AN EMS PHYSICIAN, WE WERE EXPOSED
[00:35:01]
TO AND CAME TO APPRECIATE HIS CALM DEMEANOR AND HIS ABILITY TO ANALYZE ALL SIDES OF AN ISSUE AND TO RECOMMEND THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION GIVEN THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES.AND DOING ALL THAT WHILE KEEPING THE WELLBEING OF THE PATIENTS, THE CITIZENS OF HOUSTON IS THE UTMOST PRIORITY.
SO YOU'VE BEEN THERE TO CHALLENGE US, ENCOURAGE US, SUPPORT US, HAVE HIGH EXPECTATION FOR EXPECTATIONS FOR US, AND SET US ON A PATH TO EXCEL AS EMS MEDICAL DIRECTORS IN OUR OWN RIGHT.
I DO WANNA POINT OUT DURING THIS TIME IN HOUSTON, THERE'S BEEN OVER 30 PHYSICIANS THAT HAVE EITHER WORKED WITH OR TRAINED AS EMS FELLOWS UNDER DR.
AND MANY OF US HAVE STAYED LOCAL AND SOME HAVE SPREAD ACROSS TEXAS AND ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
AND HIS PHILOSOPHIES, SAYINGS, TEACHINGS HAVE PROFOUNDLY IMPACTED OUR LIVES MORE THAN MOST OF YOU WOULD IMAGINE.
SO GIVEN THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO CALL UP ANY DOCTORS THAT WORKED WITH DR.
PER OR WERE EMS FELLOWS UNDER DR.
A PURSE, UH, TO COME UP HERE AND STAND.
SO THAT WOULD BE LARS HUTCH, CATHERINE JEVONS, HEATHER, CAROLYN, KEVIN KASHA, AND I THINK I GOT EVERYBODY.
UM, YOU WANNA GO ON THIS SIDE, HEATHER? UM, SO I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE, UM, I KNOW I SPEAK FOR EVERYBODY TO, TO TELL YOU HOW THANKFUL WE ARE IN THIS MOMENT.
I DO NOW WANT TO INVITE YOU UP, UM, TO RECEIVE ANOTHER LITTLE GIFT.
AND WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE, FOR, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW, THIS IS A, A SHADOW BOX, WHICH CONTAINS, UH, ITEMS FROM HIS, UH, CAREER AS AN EMS PHYSICIAN AND WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT THAT WE SECRETLY STOLE, UH, FROM HIM AND, AND HAD PLACED IN THE BOX.
SO I HOPE THIS IS A, A GESTURE TO SHOW HOW MUCH ALL OF US, UH, UP HERE TRULY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE FOR US.
AND NOW I HAVE THE HONOR OF INTRODUCING DR.
OH, DO YOU HAVE A SPEECH DOWN THERE OR IT'S ON MY PHONE.
WELL, MAYOR WHITMEYER, MAYOR JOHN WHITMEYER, THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON, JOHN WHITMEYER,
I WANT TO THANK YOU JOHN WHITMEYER FOR, UH, ALLOWING US THE USE OF THIS BUILDING AND FOR ASSIGNING THE TASK OF PUTTING THIS TOGETHER TO, UH, MY COLLEAGUE, UH, CITY EMPLOYEES AND, AND BRINGING THIS TOGETHER.
SO, NO, SERIOUSLY, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND, AND I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT I DO REMEMBER THAT BREAKFAST, AND I REMEMBER, UH, ONE THING YOU TOLD ME WAS THAT DURING THE PANDEMIC, UH, YOU FELT THAT I WAS, UH, THE ADULT IN THE ROOM AND, UM, UH, THAT, THAT MADE ME FEEL LIKE I NEEDED TO BE THE ADULT IN THE ROOM WHEN YOU BECAME MAYOR.
SO, UH, AND I CAN CONTINUE ON DOING THAT.
UM, I ALSO WANT TO THANK AND, AND, UH, CHIEF MUNOZ, THANK YOU FOR ACKNOWLEDGING MY WIFE AND MY FAMILY.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THIS JOB REQUIRES A LOT OF HOURS.
YOU KNOW, CALLS ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, WEEKENDS, YOU KNOW, GETTING CALLED OUT FOR THIS, THAT, OR THE OTHER.
ARGUING WITH THE HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR ABOUT TOO MANY AMBULANCES BEING STUCK IN THE ER, SO ON AND SO FORTH.
UH, BUT IT'S BEEN A LOT OF, A LOT OF HOURS.
AND QUITE HONESTLY, MY DAUGHTER, COURTNEY, THE ONLY VACATION SHE KNEW WE WERE, IF IT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH AN EMS CONFERENCE SOMEWHERE.
UH, AND, UH, SO WE HAVE A LOT OF FAMILY TRIPS THAT WE HAVE TO CATCH UP ON.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA START, WE'RE GONNA START DOING THIS.
SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD, THAT'S ONE OF THE BIG THINGS WE'RE GONNA DO.
I I OWE THEM A LOT OF, A LOT OF FAMILY TIME.
UM, I HAVE A, I USUALLY HAD LIVED THESE THINGS, BUT THE OTHER NIGHT I TRIED TO AD-LIB SOMETHING AND I JUST DID A TERRIBLE JOB.
SO I'VE MADE SOME NOTES AND LET'S SEE IF I CAN, BECAUSE I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED BECAUSE MY BATTERY IS DYING.
BUT, UM, WE'LL SEE IF I CAN, UH, FOLLOW MY NOTES HERE.
SO, UM, SO YEAH, SO A COUPLE OF THINGS.
ONE IS ONE THING THAT, UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT MANY OF YOU KNOW IN THIS ROOM, 'CAUSE I DON'T TALK ABOUT IT A WHOLE LOT, BUT I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA POINT OUT IS THAT THE, THE LEGACY OF PUBLIC SERVICE, UH, IT'S BEGINNING TO RUN THROUGH MY FAMILY.
SO LET ME TELL YOU WHAT I MEAN BY THAT.
[00:40:01]
A SURGEON IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK.UM, HIS FATHER WAS AN ORPHAN AND WORKED AT THE STEEL PLANT.
ONCE HE GOT OUT OF THE ORPHANAGE, UH, HE GOT A JOB AT THE STEEL PLANT.
AND, UM, MY, HE INSTILLED A WORK ETHIC INTO MY FATHER WHERE HE WOUND UP, UH, GOING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL, UH, THAT WAS PAID FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL BACK THEN WAS IN THAT CASE IT WAS PAID FOR BY, UH, HIS, MY DAD'S MOM'S, UH, BROTHER WHO OWNED A FUNERAL HOME BUT HAD NO CHILDREN.
AND SO HE MADE A DECENT BUCK AND HE WAS ABLE TO AFFORD TO SEND MY MY DAD TO MEDICAL SCHOOL.
MY DAD GOT INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL AFTER ONLY THREE YEARS OF COLLEGE.
HE ACTUALLY NEVER GRADUATED COLLEGE.
'CAUSE HE GOT INTO THE UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO MEDICAL SCHOOL AFTER ONLY THREE YEARS OF UNDERGRADUATE.
AND HE WENT ON TO BECOME THE CHIEF OF SURGERY AT BUFFALO MERCY HOSPITAL.
AND IN THE 1970S AS THE VIETNAM WAR WAS COMING TO AN END, THERE WAS A, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER, A LOT OF VETERANS FROM THE VIETNAM WAR WERE NOT REALLY WARMLY WELCOMED BACK IN THE UNITED STATES 'CAUSE IT WAS A HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL WAR.
WELL, THERE WAS A YOUNG SURGEON BY THE NAME OF CARL DAY, UH, WHO CAME BACK.
AND HE IS A, HE HAD A LOT OF SURGICAL EXPERIENCE, UH, IN VIETNAM ON THE FRONT LINES IN THOSE HORRIBLE FILM CLIPS THAT WE, WE SAW, IF YOU'RE OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER THOSE ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON.
AND HE HAD A HARD TIME FINDING A JOB.
AND SO MY DAD BROUGHT HIM OUT AND THEY BECAME PARTNERS.
SO MY DAD AND DR. DAY WERE PARTNERS.
SO DR. DAY AND HIS PASSION FOR PUBLIC SERVICE BECAME THE, UH, THE FIRE SURGEON FOR THE BUFFALO FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND THAT MADE MY DAD THE ASSISTANT FIRE SURGEON FOR THE BUFFALO FIRE DEPARTMENT.
NOW WHAT THAT THAT MEANT WAS, THIS IS BEFORE THE DAYS OF EMS, SO THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING LIKE WHAT I DO TODAY, BUT WHENEVER THERE WAS AN INJURED FIREFIGHTER, THEY WERE THE DOCTORS THAT WOULD TAKE CARE OF THEM.
AND SO I CAN REMEMBER MY DAD HAVING TO, YOU KNOW, ON ONCE IN A GREAT WHILE, AS WE KNOW IN THE FIRE SERVICE, SOMETHING WAS TERRIBLY WRONG.
AND SO, UH, IF DR. DAY WASN'T AVAILABLE, MY DAD WOULD GET UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND GO AND HELP OUT THE FIREFIGHTER.
AND SO, SO NOW YOU KNOW ABOUT MY CAREER.
YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT MY CAREER AND YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT MY DAUGHTER WHO IS A PUBLIC SERVANT.
AND I WANNA POINT OUT THAT OUR GRANDSON, ZACHARY JUST GOT HIRED BY THE ROSENBERG FIRE DEPARTMENT.
SO, SO THAT NOW MAKES OUR FOUR GENERATIONS OF PEOPLE IN IN PUBLIC SERVICE.
AND SO, UM, ANYWAYS, I SPOKE THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING I WANTED TO SURE, UH, UH, WHAT ELSE DID I HAVE ON HERE? JUST THINK KEEPS ALL RIGHT.
AND SO MY FIRST JOB IN EMERGENCY MEDICINE, FIRST JOB IN MEDICINE STARTED OFF, I WAS THE KID IN THE ER AT BUFFALO MERCY HOSPITAL WHERE MY DAD WORKED.
HE WAS ABLE TO GET ME THE JOB, BUT I WAS THE KID IN THE ER WHO STOCKED THE SHELVES AND MOPPED THE FLOORS AND DID WHATEVER SISTER BERNADETTE TOLD ME TO DO.
AND THAT WAS A PRETTY COOL JOB FOR A 16-YEAR-OLD KID.
'CAUSE THE ER IS A PRETTY EXCITING PLACE.
BUT I SAW THE GUYS IN THE AMBULANCE AND I THOUGHT, WELL, THAT LOOKS LIKE A BETTER JOB.
HOW DO YOU GET TO DO THAT? 'CAUSE STOCKING THE SHELVES AND MOPING THE FLOORS AND DOING WHATEVER.
SISTER BERNADETTE TOLD YOU, LEMME TELL YOU, SISTER BERNADETTE WAS A WONDERFUL LADY, BUT SHE KNEW HOW TO MAKE IT WORK.
AND SO, UM, SO THE AMBULANCE JOB LOOKED A LOT BETTER.
AND THAT'S WHEN I, I GOT BIT BY THE BUG.
BUT WHEN I, I ALSO BECAME A PARAMEDIC SHORTLY AFTER THAT.
AND I WAS IN ONE OF THE FIRST PARAMEDIC CLASSES IN NEW YORK STATE.
'CAUSE THAT WAS A BRAND NEW THING BACK THEN.
AND THE NURSES REALLY DIDN'T LIKE US 'CAUSE WE GOT TO START IVS WITHOUT AN ORDER AND THE NURSES HAD TO GET ORDERS.
AND THEN WE GOT TO SHOCK PEOPLE WHEN THEIR HEARTS WERE NOT BEATING.
AND THE NURSES HAD TO GET SPECIAL PERMISSION TO DO THAT.
AND SO THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF FRICTION BETWEEN US AND THEM.
BUT UH, BACK THEN WHEN WE STARTED IVS ON PEOPLE, IT WAS A STRAIGHT POINTY METAL NEEDLE THAT WENT IN YOUR ARM AND STAYED THERE AND IT WENT THROUGH THE TUBE TO A GLASS BOTTLE.
AND THE ONLY WAY YOU MIGHT KNOW THIS IS IF YOU'VE EVER WATCHED AN EPISODE OF MASH.
'CAUSE WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT STUFF IN FOREVER, BUT THAT'S HOW LONG AGO IT WAS.
BUT MY POINT IS THAT TH OR WHAT I WANT TO GET TO IS THAT THROUGHOUT MY CAREER IN EMS, WE HAVE SEEN SO MUCH EVOLVE AND IT HAS CHANGED AND DEVELOPED.
AND THERE BEEN NEW MEDICATIONS AND NEW TECHNIQUES AND NEW THINGS HAVE COME ALONG.
AND I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT WE HERE IN HOUSTON, UH, AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE OF ME.
I MEAN, I, I HAVE MY FINGERTIPS ON IT, BUT NOT JUST BECAUSE OF ME, BUT MAYOR JOHN WHITMEYER, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON WAS THE FIRST CITY IN THE UNITED STATES TO HAVE AEDS IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
WE ARE THE FIRST AND THE, THE FIRST USE OF A MUNICIPAL, A ED THAT SAVED A LIFE WAS IN FRONT OF SIX 11 WALKER.
IT WAS A MAN ON A BUS WHO HAD, UH, COLLAPSED AND HIS WIFE, YOU KNOW, WAS WITH HIM.
AND SHE STARTED SCREAMING AND YELLING.
THE BUS DRIVER PULLED OVER AND THE HOUSTON POLICE OFFICER WAS WALKING BY AND THE BUS DRIVER STARTS YELLING THE POLICE OFFICER.
AND THE POLICE OFFICER KNEW THAT INSIDE SIX 11 WALKER AND THE LOBBY WAS AN A ED.
AND SO THEY RAN AND THEY GOT IT AND THEY CAME BACK.
AND MEANWHILE THEY'RE CARRYING THIS GUY OFF THE BUS.
THEY GET HIM ON THE SIDEWALK DOING CPR AND THEY SHOT HIM AND GOT HIS HEART STARTED RESTART AGAIN.
THAT WAS THE FIRST USE OF MUNICIPAL
[00:45:01]
A ED IN THE UNITED STATES.AND THAT HAPPENED JUST A COUPLE THOUSAND YARDS FROM HERE.
SO CITY OF HOUSTON IS GONNA BE PROUD OF THAT.
CITY OF HOUSTON CAN ALSO BE PROUD OF THE FACT THAT OUR AMBULANCES, OUR PRIC AMBULANCES HAD 12 LEAD EKG MACHINES.
LIKE WHEN YOU GO TO THE CARDIOLOGIST AND THEY DO THAT, THEY PUT ALL THOSE STICKERS ON.
WELL, BACK IN THOSE DAYS, IF YOU WERE IN THE HOSPITAL AND THEY NEEDED THAT DONE, THEY HAD TO CALL GENERALLY THE ONE EKG TECH IN THE BUILDING WHO HAD THE EKG MACHINE ON WHEELS AND, AND PUSHED IT AROUND THE BUILDING AND WENT TO WHEREVER THEY GOT PAGED TO GO.
AND THE PAGER WASN'T A PAGER, IT WAS THEIR NAME OVER THE LOUDSPEAKER.
AND SO IF YOU NEED IT IN THE ER, THEY HAD A PAGE IN THE EKG TECH.
WELL, WE HAD IT IN OUR AMBULANCES BEFORE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS HAD IT IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT.
CAPTAIN ALGA OR CHIEF ALMAGUER, HE'S NOT IN HIS HEAD.
WE ALSO HAD, UH, THE ABILITY TO MEASURE END TITLE CO2, THE CARBON DIOXIDE, IT COMES OUTTA YOUR LUNGS, WHICH IS A PHYSIOLOGIC PARAMETER THAT GETS COMPLICATED.
BUT WE HAD THAT IN THE AMBULANCES BEFORE THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS HAD IT.
WE WERE COOLING PEOPLE AS THEY, IF THEY GOT RESUSCITATED FROM CARDIAC ARREST IN THE AMBULANCES BEFORE THEY HAD IT IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS.
WE'VE HAD A CENTRALIZED TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM WITH THE BASE STATION USING EMS TRAINED THESE PHYSICIANS THAT YOU JUST SAW LINE UP BEHIND ME, THE PEOPLE THAT THEY ARE SPECIALLY TRAINED IN EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.
THEY'RE NOT JUST DOCTORS, THEY'RE NOT JUST EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS.
THEY'RE SPECIALLY TRAINED IN EMS. AND SO FOR TWO DECADES NOW, THOSE HAVE BEEN THE TYPE OF PHYSICIANS THAT HAVE BEEN GIVING MEDICAL DIRECTION TO OUR, OUR PARAMEDICS, UM, IN THE FIELD HERE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, AGAIN, LARGELY HAVE UNHEARD OF, UH, THE UNITED OR THE, THE, UH, UH, THE FIRST MOBILE STROKE UNIT IN THE WORLD WAS IN HAMBURG, GERMANY.
THE SECOND ONE IN THE WORLD WAS IN HOUSTON, TEXAS.
THERE ARE NOW SOME 30 CITIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, AND THEY ALL COME TO HOUSTON TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT, TO GET IT DONE RIGHT.
BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST HAVING A MOBILE STROKE UNIT.
YOU HAVE TO COORDINATE WITH EMS AND THEN YOU GOTTA COORDINATE WITH ALL THE HOSPITALS AND YOU GOTTA GET EVERYBODY ON THE SAME TEAM.
AND SO VERY SHORTLY HERE, WE WILL BE PUTTING THE, THE NATION'S FIRST FIRE DEPARTMENT MOBILE STROKE UNIT ON THE FIELD THAT'LL BE OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND THAT WILL BE THE FIRST ONE OF THOSE IN THE UNITED STATES.
CHIEF MUNOZ, YOU'RE GONNA BE A FIRE CHIEF WHEN WE SET THAT RECORD.
UM, AGAIN, THE DANG THING, ALL RIGHT? UM, HE'S NOT USED PERSONAL CELL PHONE.
YEAH,
THOSE ARE WONDERFUL THINGS, THINGS I'M VERY PROUD OF.
BUT THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY CAREER REALLY IS THE PEOPLE THAT THAT I'VE, I'VE WORKED WITH THE, THE PEOPLE IN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
LEMME JUST POINT OUT, OUT SOMETHING, POLICE AND FIRE ARE AN EMS ARE SEEN AS PUBLIC SAFETY.
AND I, I WANNA IMPRESS UPON EVERYONE HERE, PUBLIC HEALTH IS ALSO A FORM OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
AND IT DOESN'T GET THE GLAMOR BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE SIRENS AND WE DON'T HAVE THE FANCY UNIFORMS. BUT, AND DR.
AFA TAUGHT ME THAT WHEN SOMEBODY COMES OUT, WAS DIAGNOSED WITH AN UNUSUAL, COMMUNICABLE, DANGEROUS DISEASE, LET'S SAY MENINGITIS OR MEASLES, YOU HAVE GOT TO RESPOND IMMEDIATELY.
GET ON SITE, TALK TO THOSE PEOPLE, FIGURE OUT HOW THAT PERSON GOT INFECTED, FIGURE OUT WHO ELSE MIGHT'VE GOT INFECTED.
AND YOU'VE GOTTA TOUCH EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE.
YOU GOTTA WORK WITH THE HOSPITAL FOLKS.
AND IF YOU DON'T GET AHEAD OF IT, IT WILL GET AHEAD OF YOU.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT WE'VE NOT HAD HERE IN HOUSTON.
WE'VE NOT HAD MENINGITIS OUTBREAKS, WE'VE NOT HAD MEASLES OUTBREAKS, WE'VE NOT HAD THESE.
WELL, THERE WAS COVID
AND THAT IS NOT BY CHANCE, THAT IS NOT LUCK.
THIS IS HARDWORKING PEOPLE THAT, UM, I'VE HAD THE PLEASURE AND THE HONOR, UH, TO WORK WITH AND WHO HAVE TAUGHT ME.
SOLDERS FOR BRINGING UP THE PEOPLE WHO I'VE TAUGHT.
BUT I HAVE LEARNED, IF YOU'RE IN THIS ROOM, IT'S 'CAUSE IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, YOU HAVE HELPED ME.
YOU HAVE SUPPORTED ME, YOU HAVE TAUGHT ME, YOU HAVE GUIDED ME, UM,
AND, AND, UM, I'M SO HONORED TO HAVE WORKED WITH YOU FOR ALL THESE YEARS.
UM, IT'S THE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ASK ME LIKE, WHY NOW? AND IT'S 'CAUSE I KNOW IN MY HEART IT'S THE RIGHT TIME.
THE, I'VE GOT A GREAT TEAM OF PEOPLE WHO ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO STEP IN.
DR. TRAN IS GONNA BE AN AWESOME PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITY.
SHE'S ALREADY A GREAT HEALTH DIRECTOR.
UH, ONE OF THE REASONS SHE'S GONNA BE A GREAT HEALTH AUTHORITY IS 'CAUSE SHE'S ALSO AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN.
NOT THAT I'M PREJUDICED IN THAT WAY, BUT SHE THINKS CRISIS.
SHE THINKS IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM, FIGURE IT OUT, GET IT DONE.
UH, CHIEF MUNOZ, YOU'VE GOT A GREAT TEAM.
THE, UH, THE EMS SUPERVISORS, THE PARAMEDICS, THE CHIEFS, YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS A THOUSAND TIMES.
YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT? HPD SWAT.
LEMME JUST TELL YOU ONE THING ABOUT HPD SWAT.
YOU ARE NOT GONNA FIND A FINER GROUP OF POLICE OFFICERS ANYWHERE IN THE NATION.
AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU WATCH
[00:50:01]
TV, NOW THERE'S ALL THIS, YOU KNOW, DEFUND THE POLICE AND A LOT OF ANTI-POLICE RHETORIC.I WILL TELL YOU THAT I WOULD PUT MY HANDS IN THEIR LI OR MY, MY LIFE IN THEIR HANDS ANY DAY THAT YOUR LIVES ARE IN THEIR HANDS WHEN TIMES WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW IT.
THESE ARE THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO GO INTO THE GET RESPOND TO, IT'S CALLED SPECIAL WEAPONS AND TACTICS, NOT BECAUSE IT'S, YOU KNOW, BIGGER GUNS.
IT'S BECAUSE THE SCENE IS COMPLICATED.
AND THE SCENE, IF YOU DON'T MANAGE IT RIGHT, IT'S GONNA GET BAD AND IT DOESN'T HAPPEN HERE.
YOU KNOW WHAT WE DON'T SEE IN HOUSTON? WE DON'T SEE STORIES ABOUT SWAT DOING ALL THESE BIG HUGE, HORRIBLE, NOT HORRIBLE BIG THINGS, HORRIBLE STORIES AND STUFF THAT YOU SEE IN OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT MAKE THE NEWS.
OUR SWAT TEAM IS FROM THE NEWS STANDPOINT IS LIKE BORINGLY QUIET MAYOR.
ISN'T THAT EXACTLY WHAT YOU WOULD WANT? IT'S LIKE A HOCKEY ANALOGY.
THE GOALTENDER WHO STOPS EVERY SHOT AND MAKES IT LOOK EASY, COMES ACROSS AS A BORING GOALTENDER.
THE ONE WHO MAKES THE BIG FLASHY SAVE.
THAT LOOKS, OH WOW, THAT'S A LOUSY TENDER.
HE'S SUPPOSED TO MAKE IT EASY AND QUIET AND STOP THE OTHER TEAM EVERY SINGLE TIME.
AND OUR SWAT OFFICERS ARE MUCH LIKE GOAL TENDERERS.
THEY DO IT QUIETLY, EFFECTIVELY, THEY DON'T BRING ATTENTION THEMSELVES.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE WAY THAT WE WOULD WANT IT.
SO FROM PUBLIC HEALTH TO EMS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, I HAVE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF OF WEARING THOSE, UH, UNIFORMS. YOU KNOW, LIKE THE, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST NOT FAIR THAT I'VE BEEN ABLE, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE GOT CHICAGO MED AND CHICAGO PD AND CHICAGO, WHATEVER.
I FEEL LIKE I'VE BEEN ABLE TO LIVE HOUSTON, ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
UM, UH, AND, UH, ANYWAYS, I COULD GO ON AND RAMBLE AND RAMBLE AND SO LET ME, LET ME STOP.
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT ELSE I WAS GONNA SAY.
IF YOU'RE IN THIS ROOM, YOU HAVE HELPED ME IN SOME WAY.
AND IF YOU THINK I DID A GOOD JOB, REALLY IT'S YOU ALL THAT NEED THE APPLAUSE.
SO LET ME APPLAUD YOU AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU EVERYBODY SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.
UM, THAT CONCLUDES THE PROGRAM.
PLEASE ENJOY SOME FOOD, UM, AND REFRESHMENTS AND MAKE SURE YOU GIVE DR.
PER ON UH, A HUG ON HIS WAY OUT.