The Tartan

By Anna Cappella and Katherine Casarrubias Gallardo

Each week, The Tartan publishes a Crime and Incident report provided by the Carnegie Mellon Police Department. Since alcohol amnesty cases are frequently included in this report, The Tartan became curious about the involvement of the Carnegie Mellon University Emergency Medical Service (CMU EMS).

CMU EMS is Carnegie Mellon’s on-campus emergency medical response service, and it is fully operated by Carnegie Mellon students. The Chief of CMU EMS and senior psychology major Cynthia Qian talked with The Tartan about her organization’s role on campus.

CMU EMS and its Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) members have been certified by the state of Pennsylvania to perform Basic Life Support on campus since 1984. They have responded to over 8,000 calls in their history.

Qian clarified what qualifies as alcohol amnesty, saying, “Amnesty means that any student can call for themselves or a friend if they think that they need medical attention and they won’t get in trouble, regardless of any substances that were being used.”

As long as the caller remains with the person needing medical help, both students will receive amnesty from university disciplinary action, according to Carnegie Mellon’s Active Medical Assistance Protocol (AMAP). This policy also applies to medical concerns related to hazing. “I think students are often worried when we go — understandably so, because we’re in uniform and we look like we’re with the officers, but both the officers and we as EMS will not get anyone in trouble for calling us,” she said.

Qian wanted to emphasize to the student body that EMS is available to respond to any situation, regardless of the severity. If the situation escalates beyond what EMS can handle, they would then call a physician to ensure the safety of the patient.

“Even if you get a minor paper cut or something like that, and you want to call us because you want medical supplies, that’s something we can do,” Qian said.

To call EMS services, students should use the CMU PD phone number — (412) 268-2323. Students can find this phone number on the back of their ID cards. This number connects callers with a central dispatcher who can notify CMU EMS if they are needed. Because of the interconnectedness of this system, CMU PD officers will almost always be present at the scene where EMS has been called.

“If we need help with anything, like traffic control or if there’s too many bystanders around,” Qian said, “they’ll help us just make sure that we are safe and that the patient is safe.” EMS has an established relationship with CMUPD and meets with them outside of emergency calls.

Every member on the EMS team is a certified EMT, so anything that an ambulance with EMTs can handle, EMS can handle regardless of the severity. “We can wrap your ankle for you, or give you band aids, things to clean your wound — but also much more severe things like seizures, motor vehicle accidents, cardiac arrests,” Qian said.

Qian emphasized that even if you believe you require advanced life support (ALS), you should still call EMS, as they are composed of students who are familiar with campus and thus can arrive at the scene faster than city emergency teams. Upon arriving at the scene, EMS can monitor you and ensure you don’t get worse from then until an ambulance arrives.

Additionally, members of EMS can communicate with the city ambulances coming to campus directly with their radio channels, whereas 911 dispatchers have to connect to the city ambulances themselves. “We can monitor the patient, tell the ambulance exactly where to go, and give updates about the patient as well,” Qian said.

Members of CMU EMS are certified EMTs in Pennsylvania, and some of them practice both on CMU EMS as well as at EMS agencies off-campus. They come from a variety of majors and join for a variety of reasons. Qian mentioned some of the team members were from the School of Computer Science, School of Drama, and the College of Engineering. 

While some team members are interested in going to medical school, others do it because they enjoy the work they do as EMTs on campus even if it is not part of the career path.

EMS’s center of operations is on Margaret Morrison Street. However, their offices are not places individuals can walk into, but rather a place where members of EMS work. “It is like a living space for us. A lot of our members live off campus, but when we’re on duty, we have to be on campus because we respond to on-campus emergencies. So if people need help, we tell them to call instead of walking,” Qian said.

CMU EMS also serves campus outside of responding to emergency calls. “We do a lot of standbys,” Qian said. Among the activities that CMU EMS is involved with are sporting events, the annual Special Olympics, and First-Year Orientation. “[Activities Board] asks us to go for big concerts where there’s a large gathering of people. We also have a trailer station on Midway when people are building booths,” she said, adding, “it’s not uncommon for people to get hurt easily since they’re working with a lot of construction stuff.”

During First-Year Orientation, CMU EMS also works hard to spread awareness of their services, tabling to talk with first-year students and giving a talk to Resident Assistants, Orientation Counselors, and other staff who are involved with new students.

CMU EMS also offers certification classes in useful medical skills like CPR, Epipen administration, safe tourniquet application, and general first aid. All certifications are offered through the American Heart Association. “A handful of our members are certified as CPR instructors, which is why we’re able to hold these classes,” Qian said, “Getting certified through us is a lot cheaper than getting certified anywhere else.”

Qian expressed CMU EMS’s dedication to serving the campus community: “Feel free to call us!”