After three years of trying to operate on campus, Northeastern University Emergency Medical Services Interest Group (NUEMS IG) President Nathan Shapiro-Shellaby said the group expects to be providing emergency medical services to students at events and athletic games by November.
NUEMS IG had a meeting Sept. 28 with Northeastern University Police Department (NUPD), Risk Management, Campus Life and University Health and Counseling Services (UHCS) which Shapiro-Shellaby, junior nursing major said helped to catapult the group's movement.
"I don't think anyone at the table did not like the idea of the group," he said. "Everyone was very excited to get this program going, I think personally. I think there's a lot of things we need to work out. Liability issues are the main concerns right now."
Associate Director of Public Safety James Ferrier said in an e-mail to The News Sept. 22, prior to the meeting, that NUPD supports the group, but liability and legal issues are the main concerns with having the group operating on campus.
"We very much support the group's willingness to offer their expertise to the campus community, but there are a number of logistical, legal and liability issues which make it difficult to have them serve as front line emergency responders on campus," he said.
NUEMS IG is aiming to be at student events, such as hockey games with a table set up in the lobby with about eight students. If students have a bloody nose or other minor medical infraction, operational members of the group, who are all EMT (Emergency Medical Technicians)-Basics certified in Massachusetts, will provide free care. In more serious situations, the students will allow NUPD to take over, Shapiro-Shellaby said.
"As we get started and we get this program moving, it's really important that everyone realizes we will be acting as an adjunct to the Northeastern Police Department," he said. "They are the primary officers on scene. They are all EMTs and they will be in control of the situation."
Shapiro-Shellaby said the group is working to become larger and more recognized on campus. Shapiro-Shellaby said they may also accompany NUPD in ambulances. He cited a statistic from the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation showing that there has never been a successful lawsuit against student EMTs.
Currently, there are more than 300 groups similar to NUEMS IG at universities across the nation, and many practice more heavily, Shapiro-Shellaby said. For example, Virginia Tech's student EMS program has three operating ambulances, he said. Because of Northeastern's emphasis on real-world experience, Shapiro-Shellaby said this program should have been enacted previously.
"Northeastern should be the first university to have adopted a program like this I feel because they are so invested in their co-op and experimental learning," he said.
Since the group was formed, it has been a slower process because the program is unlike anything else at the university, Director of Field Operations Joe Pepe said.
"It's not that it wasn't encouraged, but it just took a little bit longer to make sure we had all the protections in order and addressed the concerns on both sides before we jumped into this," he said.
Student Government Association (SGA) President Ryan Fox said that though SGA has not been directly involved in the process, it is something SGA members and other students support.
"It's definitely something that we want to see on campus," he said. "From talking to students, I think students are a lot more receptive to student on student care."
Pepe said he hopes for involvement to grow in a short amount of time.
"Hopefully by the end of the semester we'll be moving into a more active role as far as EMS coverage," he said.
EMS group looks to help on campus
Published: Thursday, October 8, 2009
Updated: Thursday, October 8, 2009
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