Eugene, Oregon: April 15, 2008
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of MEDIC FIRST AID co-founder Peder Heineman, who died at his home in Eugene, Oregon Tuesday, April 15, 2008, of an apparent heart attack.
“Peder was visionary in his focus to simplify CPR and first aid training and many of his early ideas on how to best deliver training can still be found throughout the industry,” said Bill Clendenen, current CEO of MEDIC FIRST AID.
Peder spent much of his life in the Pacific Northwest. He was working as a paramedic for Buck Ambulance Service when a life-changing event occurred. He was called to assist Multnomah Athletic Club of Portland, Oregon, in developing an effective emergency response plan after two members died of cardiac arrest.
These events inspired him to create a system of emergency care training that is now used around the world. Peder wondered how a patient’s chances of recovery could be improved. Realizing that many individuals trained in first aid fail to respond in an actual emergency, he and Maryl Barker, who was employed by the Multnomah Athletic Club, developed and implemented a detailed system for dealing with medical emergencies at the club. The goal of the system was to teach trained responders how to respond quickly and accurately to a medical emergency to help an ill or injured person.
From that concept grew a new consulting company, Emergency Medical Planning (EMP). Peder and Maryl established EMP in 1977 to help businesses develop and implement emergency medical plans, utilizing an innovative new EMS-based first aid curriculum. The two also collaborated in writing a book on emergency care training. Medical Emergency: Manual No. 1 Medic First Aid was published in 1981 and first articulated the “seeing, hearing, speaking, feeling, and doing” approach that is widely used today. EMP grew into MEDIC FIRST AID, International – now a worldwide leader in emergency care training. Over the past thirty years more than 85,000 Instructors have trained more than 10 million providers in more than 140 countries using MEDIC FIRST AID Training Programs.
Clendenen said, “Peder left a wonderful legacy through MEDIC FIRST AID and he touched the lives of many people who have been helped by trained responders.”
Obituaries - The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon
Peder Heineman
Peder Jerome Heineman of Eugene died April 15 of a heart attack at age 68. A celebration of life will be held later.
He was born June 9, 1939, in Spokane to Arthur and Inez Heineman. He married Phyllis Watke in Spokane in 1959. They later divorced. He married Maryl Barker on Dec. 31, 1983, in Portland. They later divorced. He married Tina Duncan in 1996.
He served in the Army and Army Reserves between 1957 and 1964. He was an innovator in the emergency medical care field, starting Crown Ambulance in the early 1960s and later working for Buck Ambulance in Portland. He was co-founder of Medic First Aid International.
Survivors include two daughters, Heidi of Lake Oswego and Kelly of Eugene; three sons, Peder Jr. and Philip, both of Veneta, and Christopher of Portland; and 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A son, Douglas, died previously.
Arrangements by West Lawn Memorial Park and Funeral Home in Eugene. Remembrances to Oregon Humane Society or Sacred Heart Hospice.
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