Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center hosted annual PA EMS Memorial Bike Ride, Honoring Pennsylvania's Fallen EMS Providers
October 07, 2026
The streets of Johnstown served as the starting point for a statewide tribute to Pennsylvania's emergency medical services providers on Saturday, September 12, when the PA EMS Memorial Bike Ride began at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center.
The Pennsylvania EMS Provider Foundation hosted an opening ceremony at the Ashman/Rose P5 Discharge Pavilion at Conemaugh Memorial, honoring the 84 Pennsylvania EMS providers who have lost their lives in the line of duty since the beginning of EMS in the Commonwealth.
Following the ceremony, cyclists departed Conemaugh Memorial alongside participating EMS vehicles in a parade through Johnstown before beginning the multi-day ride to Pittsburgh. The ride concluded on Monday, September 14, with the annual Pennsylvania EMS Memorial Service at Heinz Memorial Chapel.
A Fitting Starting Point for a Tribute to EMS
For Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, hosting the start of the Memorial Bike Ride represented more than an event. It reflected Johnstown's long history of emergency response and Conemaugh's longstanding connection to EMS in the region.
The history of Conemaugh Memorial itself is rooted in emergency response. Following the devastating Johnstown Flood of 1889, makeshift medical facilities were established to care for the thousands of people who were injured or displaced. Clara Barton and volunteers from the American Red Cross came to Johnstown as part of one of the organization's first major disaster relief responses. Conemaugh Memorial traces its origins to those efforts, with the hospital officially opening in 1892.
More than a century later, Conemaugh continues that legacy through its relationship with emergency medical services and prehospital care throughout the region.
Education in emergency medical services began in the Greater Johnstown area in the mid-1970s with an EMT-Basic program. Paramedic-level education followed in late 1976, initially at Portage Area High School, before the program moved to the Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center. As the program grew, it relocated to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in 1995, where a Paramedic Advisory Committee was established. The program ultimately became part of Conemaugh's Allied Health education offerings.
Today, the Conemaugh School of Emergency Medical Services continues to train EMTs in Johnstown, preparing the next generation of EMS professionals to provide care in their communities.
Conemaugh's support of EMS also extends directly into the field. The hospital's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) has operated since 1981, providing specialized paramedic support to area EMS providers when local ambulance services are unavailable or otherwise limited. DART remains available 24 hours a day and is dispatched through local 911 centers.