The Kansas City Metro area remains one of three finalists for a permanent memorial location.

The National Emergency Medical Services Memorial, "The Tree of Life," was displayed to the public at City Hall, on Wednesday, January 23.

 

As mentioned in past articles, the memorial honors emergency medical service providers from across the nation who lost their lives in the line of duty. The 350 honorees currently listed on the memorial include 20 Missourians and Kansans (listed below).

The display coincided with a second visit earlier that week by the National EMS Memorial Service Board of Directors, which continues to evaluate the Kansas City metropolitan area as a possible permanent new home for the Tree of Life memorial and the annual National EMS Memorial Service. Kansas City was chosen late last year as one of three finalist cities in a nationwide search.

The memorial is currently traveling across the United States after being displayed at a Department of Homeland Security Conference in Los Angeles. Its visit to Kansas City was hosted by the Mid-America Regional Council Emergency Rescue committee (MARCER), a bistate coalition of EMS agencies. MARCER is spearheading the effort to bring the National EMS Memorial to Kansas City, with support from the Missouri Emergency Medical Service Association (MEMSA), the Kansas Emergency Medical Services Association (KEMSA), and the Missouri Ambulance Association.

Kansas & Missouri National EMS Memorial Service Honorees

James S. Barnett Jr., Spirit of Kansas City Life Flight, Lone Jack, Mo.
Brandon Bow, EagleMed, Wichita, Kan.
Tye P. Brown, Metropolitan Ambulance Service Trust, Kansas City, Mo.
Marcus E. Carr, Chillicothe Fire Dept., Chillicothe, Mo.
Billie Cobb, Gerald Area Ambulance District, Gerald, Mo.
Jonathan Dye, EagleMed, Wichita, Kan.
Wilma C. Francis, Caldwell Co. Ambulance District, Kingston, Mo.
Jennifer Hauptman, EagleMed, Wichita, Kan.
Juli J. Huttegger, Air Evac Lifeteam, West Plains, Mo.
Dennis W. Krause, Concordia Fire Protection District, Concordia, Mo.
Norma C. Lane, Putnam County Ambulance District, Unionville, Mo.
Katherine Malone, Metropolitan Ambulance Service Trust, Kansas City, Mo.
David J. Mosher, Chillicothe Fire & Grundy County Ambulance, Chillicothe, Mo.
Edward C. Neustrom, Johnson County Med-Act, Olathe, Kan.
Ryan P. Ostendorf, American Medical Response, Topeka, Kan.
Bryan C. Pottberg, Lee's Summit Fire Department, Lee's Summit, Mo.
Karen Scherer, Air Evac Lifeteam, West Plains, Mo.