Nigh patrols can help more than just the intoxicated

By Doug Ancey

Santa Clara's Emergency Medical Service provides after-hours care for the campus community. While some may suggest that they are just there to help intoxicated students, those that make up Santa Clara EMS are certified Emergency Medical Technicians who have the training to deal with many different medical situations.

"We divide our calls into three different categories: drug and alcohol, illness, and trauma," says Stan Hiew, a junior and the squad's statistician.

"If I arrive on the scene of an emergency, we can basically do everything that can save your life. We can do CPR, use a defibrillator or AED, provide oxygen and ventilate someone. If the patient is in diabetic shock, we can provide insulin. We also see a lot of sports injuries," he said.

"We're a nationally certified EMT basic squad," explains Lauren McGuire, student director of the Santa Clara EMT program, "This means we can operate in any county in the nation. We're also county certified, which means we can operate in Santa Clara County. It's just tough because we are so limited in what we can do under California protocol even though our EMT course trained us for what we are able to do potentially all over the nation. We can't prescribe medication other than things like Advil. We can't perform invasive procedures, like stitching. As far as intubations, if we have to ventilate someone we have airway-adjuncts, which establishes the airway, but doesn't use a tube. We're not allowed to use things like nitroglycerin, which is used for a lot of cardiac cases. We can't administer EpiPens. What we can do is if the patient has an EpiPen we can tell them how, if they are able to administer it themselves. If they can't then we have to call the fire department. That's what is frustrating about California protocols because we are limited in that way."

The EMT program also trains for what is known as a mass casualty incident, or MCI. An MCI can be a natural disaster such as an earthquake, or such things as a bomb detonation or a gas leak.

Jordan Ruiz, who was the director of the EMT program for the 2007-2008 year, started the first MCI training event at Santa Clara. The event came on the heels of natural disasters that were happening in this area and the program felt the need to prepare.

In the MCI training events, the EMT program takes over a building on campus for the day. Actors are brought in and are made up to simulate various injuries.

"It's a great way for us to train in mobilization," said Hiew, "the challenge is, how do we get the 30 members of our team, who are scattered across campus, to converge on this one location within a span of ten minutes."

"We're really proud of the MCI events," said McGuire, "A lot of people don't know this, but Santa Clara is actually the contact point not only for students, but for the surrounding community, so we're responsible (EMT and campus safety) for a lot of people in the event of a huge disaster. We do training throughout the year for it because the event is in early May. It's not only practice for us but it's also to show the community that they're in good hands in the event of a major disaster. It's also great because we work closely with Santa Clara Fire Department and Santa Clara Police Department."

The EMT program is also trying to get an MCI trailer. According to McGuire, it's crucial in an MCI to have enough equipment. The SCU EMTs have four gear bags and a fully stocked room, but can go through that very quickly with a lot of patients. "Hopefully that's something we can get established this year," said McGuire,

The dedication that the individuals in the EMT program have is truly commendable. In a program that's entirely volunteer-run, their commitment shows a vested interest in the school community. "We're really humbled to be able to do this," said McGuire. "We're really lucky that the school has been able to provide this program for us. Yes we are doing a service, but at the same time we are benefiting hugely."

Contact Doug Ancey at dancey@scu.edu or (408) 554-4546.