RANDOLPH MANTOOTH, EMERGENCY TELEVISION STAR, TO INTRODUCE LIVE TRAUMA RESCUE DEMO AT DELAWARE STATE FAIR JULY 23

HARRINGTON, DE - July 13, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dated material.
Do not run after July 23, 2006.

Randolph Mantooth, who played firefighter/paramedic Johnny Gage in the 1970s television show “EMERGENCY!” will join Governor Ruth Ann Minner in introducing the July 23 Delaware Trauma System’s mock crash rescue demonstration at the Delaware State Fair in Harrington. The “Answering a 911 Call” event begins at 12:45 p.m. at the Wilmington Trust Grandstand on the fairgrounds and is free with Fair admission.

The emergency response presentation, coordinated by Delaware Health and Social Services’ Division of Public Health (DPH) and the Delaware State Fair, features fire trucks, ambulances, the Delaware State Police helicopter and hospital trauma teams treating, stabilizing and transporting simulated victims of a staged crash. Governor Minner will acknowledge the 10th anniversary of the Delaware Trauma System, a network of caregivers who provide round-the-clock medical care for seriously injured people.

“EMERGENCY!,” which ran between 1972 and 1979, is widely credited for showcasing the success of an established paramedic program, and for helping raise awareness of the need to establish similar Advanced Life Support programs throughout the United States. The series was one of the first television shows to depict real-life dramas, with emergency responses drawn from the log books of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Mantooth is a popular keynote speaker at Fire and Emergency Medical Services conferences, and is currently developing a new television series called “USAR-1,” based on the Los Angeles County Fire Department Urban Search and Rescue units.

The Delaware Trauma System, Beebe Medical Center, Sussex Emergency Associates and Bayhealth Medical Center are sponsoring Mantooth’s appearance.

Mantooth’s Sunday, July 23 schedule at the Delaware State Fair is as follows:

9 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. -- Mantooth will host a fundraising autograph session at the Sussex County Mobile Command Center parked near the Grandstand. Exclusive “EMERGENCY!” photographs will be available for purchase and personalization. Autograph proceeds benefit the County of Los Angeles Museum’s James O. Page Memorial Building Fund.

12:45 p.m. -- Mantooth will introduce “Answering a 911 Call,” a narrated emergency response event on the track at the Wilmington Trust Grandstand. Coordinated by Delaware Health and Social Services’ Division of Public Health and the Delaware State Fair, the event is free with regular Fair admission. Adults should accompany children 12 and under to explain that the demonstration is pre-planned and that the blood and injuries are not real. Audience members will receive free information packets and be eligible to win home first aid kits, bicycle helmets, smoke detectors and life jackets. Agencies participating in the demonstration include the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center, Sussex County Emergency Medical Services, Harrington Volunteer Fire Company, the Delaware State Police Aviation Section, DPH's Office of Emergency Medical Services, the Delaware State Fire School, the Delaware Office of Highway Safety, and the trauma teams at Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Bayhealth/Kent General Hospital and Milford Memorial Hospital, Beebe Medical Center, Christiana Care Health System and Nanticoke Memorial Hospital.

For additional information about Mantooth, visit www.RandolphMantooth.com

Press photos can be requested from publicity@RandolphMantooth.com.

For more information about the Delaware State Fair, please visit www.delawarestatefair.com.

* Celebrity appearance subject to change.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.###