Excerpts from the Chicago Tribune about Dr. Stanley M. Zydlo
Dr. Stanley M. Zydlo, a pioneering figure in emergency medical services, was the visionary behind the first multicommunity paramedic and EMT system in the United States. As the longtime head of emergency services at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, he played a key role in transforming how emergency care was delivered across the country.
"Stan was truly ahead of his time," said former Palatine Mayor Rita Mullins. "He saw the potential to save lives and made it happen. His determination changed the way we respond to emergencies."
Zydlo, who passed away on June 3 at the age of 81 due to cardiac arrest at Northwest Community Hospital, had been in declining health, according to his wife.
Growing up on Chicago’s West Side, Zydlo was the son of Stanley Zydlo Sr., a tavern owner who later served as alderman for the 26th Ward for 15 years. After earning his medical degree from Loyola University, he served as a flight surgeon in the Air Force during the Cuban Missile Crisis, where he evaluated the physical and mental readiness of pilots flying nuclear-armed planes between Arkansas and the Soviet Union. He even flew on some of those missions.
Following his military service, Zydlo opened a medical practice in Wabash, Indiana, before moving to Chicago in 1969 to work in the emergency room at Northwest Community Hospital. It was there that he noticed a major problem: ambulance workers had no medical training and couldn’t provide any life-saving care during transport.
Larry Pairitz, who was the fire chief of Mount Prospect from 1970 to 1986, first met Zydlo when he asked him to teach an EMT class to firefighters. Over time, Pairitz expanded the program to include neighboring departments, and Zydlo became increasingly convinced that firefighters could be trained to perform critical lifesaving tasks.
Together with Pairitz and activist Janet Schwettman, Zydlo worked to establish state-wide standards requiring fire departments to offer paramedic services. While many firefighters embraced the idea, some doctors were skeptical about whether non-physicians could handle advanced medical procedures.
"There was strong resistance from the medical community," Zydlo recalled in a 1994 interview with the Tribune. "But I always believed in one thing: ‘Just try to stop us from helping people.’"
As part of his advocacy, Zydlo trained firefighters in life-saving techniques and pushed for legislation that would allow them to provide more advanced care. In August 1972, Governor Richard Ogilvie signed a bill authorizing the paramedic system. The following month, Northwest Community Hospital launched its Mobile Intensive Care System, and by the end of the year, nine towns joined the multicommunity EMS system.
Today, the consortium includes 25 member agencies, including 22 fire departments and three private ambulance services. For years, Zydlo remained the medical director of the program, continuing to train paramedics and EMTs. He also benefited from the very system he helped create when he suffered a heart attack in 1978.
"I had a weak pulse and almost no blood pressure," he told the Tribune in 1994. "But those paramedics saved my life. There's no doubt about that."
In 1997, a Palatine fire station was named in his honor, recognizing his lasting impact on emergency care in the region.
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