[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 6, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E184]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IN HONOR OF HARVEY HALL

                                 ______


                         HON. WILLIAM M. THOMAS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 6, 1996

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to honor an outstanding 
individual, Harvey Hall, who is celebrating over 25 years of providing 
ambulance service to the people of Kern County. Harvey accepted his 
first job as an ambulance driver in 1960 because he thought it might be 
interesting. Little did Harvey realize that his interest in riding 
along for the night in his buddy's ambulance would lead to a job offer, 
11 years with the Flinn Ambulance Co., and then 25 years as the owner 
of Hall Ambulance. Mr. Speaker, for his serendipitous ride, the 
residents of Kern County are grateful.
  The first location for Hall Ambulance was in a house that also 
doubled as the living quarters for Hall, his wife, and their two 
children. Five years later Hall and his family moved down the street, 
but his work was never far as Harvey brought an ambulance home with him 
at night. Today, the dedication to service that caused Hall to take an 
ambulance home with him has helped create a business that services the 
cities of Bakersfield, Arvin, Oildale, Tehachapi, Lamont, Mojave, 
Boron, California City, Rosamond, and Taft.
  The list of firsts for Hall Ambulance is impressive: 1975--the first 
mobile intensive care paramedic service in Kern County; 1975--first 
nonemergency transportation for wheelchair bound; and 1985--first 
private mobile medical communications unit for mass casualty incidents. 
But before Harvey achieved this stellar record, his beginnings were 
rather meager.
  For his service, Harvey was designated in 1990 as one of the top 
three ALS providers in the United States by the National Association of 
Emergency Medical Technicians and was awarded the 1991 Paramedic EMS 
Service of the Year award by the National Association of Emergency 
Medical Technicians and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. In 
1987, he offered basic life support training throughout Kern County and 
as a result 2,000 people were trained to help save lives. In 1992 he 
put in place one of the most sophisticated state-of-the-art computer-
aided emergency communication centers in the country.
  If this were not enough, Harvey also sponsors an Explorer Scout troop 
and he is involved in fundraising for the Boys and Girls Club of 
Bakersfield, the Police Athletic League, the Friendship House, and the 
Bakersfield College Foundation. In addition, Harvey has been the 
chairman of the Bakersfield Christmas parade for 11 years and has 
served on the Coalition to Protect Private Property Rights.
  So Mr. Speaker, on the 25th anniversary of Hall Ambulance, 
congratulations and job well done to Harvey Hall for all his service to 
the people of Kern County.

                          ____________________