Just as physicians have the caduceus, emergency medical service personnel have
the Star of Life. Use of the Star of Life by EMS personnel is encouraged both
by the American Medical Association and the Advisory Council of the Department
of Health, Education, and Welfare. The Star of Life applies to all emergency
medical products and services funded under the DOT/EMS program.
The Star of Life was designed by Leo R. Schwartz, Chief of the EMS Branch of the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Star of Life was
created after the American Red Cross complained about the common use of an Omaha
orange cross on a square background of reflectorized white which they saw as an
imitation of the Red Cross symbol. The NHTSA investigated and felt the complaint
was justified.
Adopted from the Medical Identification Symbol of the American Medical Association,
the newly designed six-barred cross was registered as a certification mark on
February 1, 1977 with the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks in the name of
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Each of the bars of the blue Star of Life represents the six system functions of
emergency medical services, as illustrated below.
Six Points of the EMS
System
- Detection
- Reporting
- Response
- On Scene Care
- Care in Transit
- Transfer to Definitive Care
The snake and the staff in the center of the Star of Life portray the staff of
Asclepius who, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Apollo, the god of
light, truth, and prophecy. According to legend, Asclepius learned the art of
healing from Cheron, the centaur. But Zeus, king of the gods, was fearful that,
with Asclepius' knowledge, men might be rendered immortal. Rather than have
this occur, Zeus killed Asclepius with a thunderbolt. Asclepius was worshipped
as a god and people slept in his temples, as it was rumored that, in death, he
effected cures of prescribed remedies to the sick during their dreams.
Asclepius is usually shown in a standing position, dressed in a long cloak,
holding a staff with a serpent coiled around it. The staff has come to represent
medicine's most recognized symbol. In the caduceus, used by physicians, the
staff is winged, with two serpents intertwined. Although it holds no known
medical relevance, it represents the magic wand of the Greek diety, Hermes,
messenger of the gods.
In Numbers 21:9, the Bible makes reference to a serpent on a staff.
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to
pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass,
he lived.
NHTSA has exclusive rights to monitor the use of the Star of Life within the
United States. Its use on EMS vehicles certifies that these vehicles meet the
U.S. Department of Transportation minimum standards and certify that EMS personnel
who use it have been trained to meet these standards. Its use on road maps and
highway signs indicates the location or access to qualified emergency care
services.
Permitted Uses of the
Star of Life
- As a means of identification for medical equipment and
supplies for installation and use in EMS vehicles and ambulances.
- To point to the location of qualified medical care
services and access to such facilities.
- For use on shoulder patches and insignia worn only by
personnel who have satisfactorily completed DOT training courses or approved
equivalents, and for persons who by title or function administer, directly
supervise, or participate in national, state, or community EMS programs.
- On EMS personal items, such as badges, plaques,
buckles, etc.
- Books, pamphlets, manuals, reports, or other printed
material having direct application to emergency medical services.
- The Star of Life symbol may be worn by administrative personnel, project directors, and staff, councils and advisory groups. If shoulder patches are worn, they should be the plain blue Star of Life on a white square or round background. The function, identifying letters or words should be printed on bars and attached across the bottom separately. The edges of the basic patch and functional bars are to be embroidered.
The Star of Life trademark, filed with the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
under the name of the National Highway Safety Administration was to have remained
in effect for 20 years from that date, which expired in 1997. This may account
for some of the more creative uses of the Star of Life we've seen more recently.
