By Meg Baker
CBS New York
EWING TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – In case of emergency, fellow students are at the ready at one of New Jersey’s most popular colleges.
Their all-volunteer EMS crew balances college life with saving lives.
The students at The College of New Jersey are in good hands if they meet some of the members of the TCNJ EMS squad.
Their supervisor says the college crew is just as adequately and thoroughly trained as any township based squad – professionally taught to handle any situation.
“We did have some cardiac arrests in the past… it really can be anything,” senior Melissa Webster said.
Chief Webster is a biology and anthropology major. She was certified to be an EMT at her high school in Union County and has trained for months with professionals in her area.
The volunteers are usually the first to arrive on the scene of a medical emergency on campus.
“We don’t transport. We’re actually a quick response team so we’ll get on scene, and then we can do basically everything a normal EMT can do, and then we decide if we need to call an ambulance for them or not,” Webster explained.
The decision to call for backup is usually made after they assess the situation and determine if hospitalization is necessary.
The TCNJ students say they respond to more than 200 calls each school year.
The trained responders rotate overnight shifts and weekends, staying on call and ready for anything. They can respond anywhere on campus within a few minutes, thanks to their own emergency vehicle.
“We call her Bessy. We got her in 2011. She’s an electric vehicle so she’s kinda like a golf cart,” Meghan Maguire of Chatham said.
Maquire went through Chatham’s EMT cadet program when she was 16. Now 19-years-old, she is studying to become a nurse. She’s even responded to a few psychiatric calls.
“I feel like I really help the person because a lot of times someone is in crisis and they really need to get some help.”
The 30 members say they love giving back to their campus.
Originally posted at https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/03/26/new-jersey-colleges-student-ems-service-helping-to-save-their-classmates-lives/
By Ashton Leber, Staff Writer
The Signal
The TCNJ Emergency Medical Services (EMS) team accepted the 2016 New Jersey Outstanding Volunteer EMS Agency award at the New Jersey Statewide Conference for EMS at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., on Friday, Nov. 18.
Alumnus Stephen Vetrano (’94), the medical director of TCNJ EMS, nominated the group to the New Jersey Office of EMS, which hosts the event every November.
The group was one of 10 EMS volunteer agencies from municipalities across the state that were nominated for the award.
“The award means a lot to us because it’s great to be recognized by the state of New Jersey for all of the work that we do,” said Kaitlyn Dickson, president of TCNJ EMS and a senior chemistry major.
TCNJ EMS was founded in 1998 as a student club and is now recognized under the division of Campus Police.
The College’s EMS responding team is composed entirely of student volunteers who are either certified in First Aid, EMT or both, providing its services to ensuring campus safety.
“This award just reassures for me that TCNJ EMS is truly a top-notch emergency medical agency in the state of New Jersey,” said Scott Sferra, supervisor of TCNJ EMS. “I’m very happy for each member of the organization that made this award possible.”
After 20 years in EMS, Sferra said TCNJ EMS provides some of the best care he has seen in the emergency response field.
The group is funded through the College with its own uniforms, equipment and vehicles, according to Dan-anh Tran, chief of TCNJ EMS and a senior psychology major.
Throughout the school year, students volunteer on weeknights, responding to the campus’s 9-1-1 calls starting on Sundays from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. and 24 hours on the weekends.
The response room is located in Decker Hall, where the student volunteers work on homework and can sleep while waiting to be dispatched. A majority of the calls are due to incidents involving an intoxicated person, according to Dickson.
If a student is interested in becoming a part of TCNJ EMS, but is not qualified, they can become an auxiliary member who helps with campus outreach, fund-raising and other administrative responsibilities, Tran said.
Dickson started as an auxiliary member of TCNJ EMS in the spring of her freshman year and took classes to become a certified emergency medical technician (EMT) that summer.
Now serving as president, Dickson has watched members of her squad grow and learned from her team members, too.
“I love everyone on the squad, and I love being around people who are so dedicated, self-sacrificing and eager to help,” she said.
Dickson hopes to pursue a career in the medical field and will apply the skills and qualifications she has learned through TCNJ EMS.
In addition to serving the College’s community, TCNJ EMS promotes health and wellness, and teaches hands-only CPR classes throughout the academic year.
“Both past and present members have put a great amount of time into constantly improving TCNJ EMS,” Dickson said.
Vetrano has seen many changes since he joined the TCNJ EMS team when he was a student at the College. Vetrano has many hopes and aspirations for the program’s future.
“My goal is to improve the system one class at a time, one squad at a time, one EMT at a time,” Vetrano said.
This article was originally published at http://www.tcnjsignal.net/2016/12/07/tcnj-ems-earns-recognition-at-conference-for-exploits/
By Colleen Murphy
The Signal
A call on the radio breaks the friendly, laid back atmosphere of the Lions’ EMS room. The three first-responders become silent and freeze, waiting to see what the person on the radio has to say. Where are they responding to? Is the incident serious?
On-call every night, for the College’s safety. (Colleen Murphy/ Production Manager)
“The Voice,” which is playing on the large Sony television, becomes background noise. The adrenaline in the room increases. All ears are tuned to the radio.
False alarm. It was just a call from maintenance saying that a lamppost in one of the lots was out. The first-responders breathe a sigh of relief.
But, on this Tuesday night, the responders were only into their second hour of duty. There were 10 hours ahead of this crew of student volunteers, and they would be ready whenever a call for them came in on the radio.
Fifteen years ago, there was no emergency service organization at the College. Before Lions’ EMS, the campus would rely solely on Ewing Township EMS and Pennington Road Emergency Medical Unit to respond to all emergency calls on campus, John DeJesus according to junior biology major and Lions’ EMS crew chief.
There were several attempts to form a campus EMS group in the 1970s, according to DeJesus, but it finally took hold in 1998.
“Like-minded students trained in emergency care saw a need for a group to respond to emergency calls on campus and a way to use and improve their skills. They petitioned the school and eventually were allowed to form,” DeJesus said.
Since then, Lions’ EMS, a division of Campus Police, has responded to approximately 108 calls a semester. During the 2011-2012 academic year, members were on call for 239 emergencies and volunteered more than 3,180 hours, according to the Lions’ EMS website.
From January 2009 to today, Lions’ EMS has covered over 915 calls. Last semester alone, the squad responded to 122 calls and volunteered 1,752 hours of duty crew time and about 57 hours of stand-by time at events, according to DeJesus.
While a majority of the calls within the 15 years have been for intoxication, there are a plethora of other calls, according to junior biology major and Lions’ EMS Deputy Chief Megan Wyles, who said lacerations, minor burns, possible bone fractures, allergic reactions and diabetic and behavioral emergencies are also common.
“We are trained to deal with many types of emergencies that can range from cardiac arrest to complicated childbirth, and many others in between,” Wyles said. “Many of us have come across our fair share of seemingly ‘common’ and ‘uncommon’ calls in the line of duty here at the College.”
Lions’ EMS does more than provide emergency care to the campus, though, according to Wyles.
“Lions’ EMS stands by at many large-scale events, such as concerts and Funival, in order to make our services readily available to anyone who may need them. We also host an annual blood drive in the fall and provide blood pressure screenings to the TCNJ and Ewing communities at various events throughout the year,” Wyles said. “We have participated in a project run by Student Health 101. These are just a few of many events we have participated in over the years.”
But three years ago, the services Lions’ EMS provides were all in danger of being shut down due to the resignation of its then-supervisor, according to junior nursing major and Lions’ EMS Secretary Alana Barouch. College employee Scott Sferra took on the position, and has now supervised the squad for three years. Under these years of his supervision, Lions’ EMS has grown to be stronger than ever, according to Barouch.
“We wear more professional, personalized uniforms and badges for the first time. We’ve acquired new radios and equipment,” Barouch said. “Most importantly, we finally have a hard-earned response vehicle. Our electric car, equipped with EMS supplies and emergency lights, allows us to respond to calls much faster than when we responded on foot with heavy backpacks.”
One major way in which the squad has become more efficient and timely is having a central location to respond from.
Up until a few years ago, Lions’ EMS had no squad room — their equipment was stored in a closet in Eickhoff Hall, according to Wyles. When a call came in, the responders on duty would have to run to Eickhoff to grab their supplies, and then to the scene.
Fortunately, the need for a room so that the members can respond better as a group was seen. A vacant residence director’s room in Decker Hall was converted into the squad’s response room. Equipped with a bathroom, kitchen, lounge area, and two sets of bunk beds, the room is said to have a “family-friendly atmosphere.” The crews on weekend shifts are assigned chores, including washing and folding the bed sheets, cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, and making sure all the radios are fully charged.
It is in this room where crews stay for hours at a time, ready to answer any calls that might come in.
“Each three-member duty crew has an 11-hour night shift every other week, and about one 24-hour weekend shift a month. We cover every night and all weekend, totaling 103 hours a week, plus standing by at events on campus,” Barouch said. “Also, we are beginning an ‘all-call’ system, in which members can keep their radios on during daytime hours on weekdays, and respond to calls when available.”
While Lions’ EMS has had its obvious positive impacts on the College within the last 15 years, the organization might have had its biggest effect on its 35 active responders.
“Being a part of Lions’ EMS has shaped my experience at the College. I’m proud of how much time, effort, skill and dedication we put into providing care to the TCNJ community. I love the work we do and the close bonds we form, and everything we’ve been able to learn from each other,” Barouch said.
Fifteen years ago, there was no campus emergency response team. Three years ago, Lions’ EMS was in jeopardy of folding. But today, it is stronger than ever, and its supervisor, Sferra, could not be more impressed.
“I’m extremely proud to have the opportunity to be the supervisor of a fantastic organization. Each member brings to the organization medical knowledge, experience and dedication that has proven time and time again in caring for (his or her) patients,” Sferra said. “When I was asked if I was willing to supervise Lions’ EMS several years ago, it was an honor for me to be asked. Each year brings new members and new challenges however the commitment of each member makes those challenges very conquerable. I could not be more proud of a fine group of emergency medical providers.”
