Emergency Medical Technicians to be housed in McNutt

For the first time, student emergency medical technicians will be stationed at a campus dormitory on weekends so they can quickly respond to emergencies.

The IU Emergency Medical Service club will put student EMTs at the McNutt Residence Center from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. The volunteers will act as first responders to treat students who are injured or intoxicated.

They will not drive injured residents to the hospital but will provide immediate care to those who need it. The Bloomington Hospital Ambulance Service will continue to transport residents to a hospital emergency room.

Senior Ben Siebert, president of the IU-EMS club, proposed the idea of having an educated medical staff closer to the students.

“I’ve had experience dealing with situations where it would have been beneficial to have staff that had some sort of medical training,” said Siebert, who worked as a Resident Assistant for two years. “The proposal had been made before, and there was great support for it. The University wants students to be safe.”

IU-EMS members are certified EMT-Basics, he said, and know first aid and CPR procedures. Each member will also carry a hospital radio that will allow them to communicate with the ambulance service, Siebert said. 

The IU-EMS members will be able to respond quicker than ambulances, though, becauase they will be located in the dormitory.

“The ambulance service that supports IU also has other areas that they cover which can take longer to get to the emergency,” Siebert said. “This way, a medical technician can be at the scene even before the ambulance.”

John Summerlot, the McNutt Residence Manager, said he approved the arrangement because it provides students with a high level of care.

If successful, the program could extend to other dormitories on campus.

He’s now working to iron out a few remaining issues, such as how RAs and his staff will work together.

He’s also still defining the type of incidents that the students EMTs will cover.

Bob Weith, director of Residential Programs and Services, said the program makes sense at IU.

“Whenever there are thousands of students living yards away from each other, there will always be need for medical help,” he said. “We are happy to have a program like this on campus.”