Emergency Squad Comes to Geneseo's Rescue

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The Lamron Vol. LXXVII, Issue 9

By Catherine Pisacano
Asst. Features Editor

While some students are out partying or just hanging out, there is a group of their peers in Geneseo ready to handle an emergency.

The Geneseo Volunteer emergency Squad operates Sunday through Thursday from 4pm-8am and around the clock on the weekends beginning at 4pm on Fridays.

Lieutenant of Operations Mike Bastedo, a junior anthropology major, said, "We are a service organization to provide a first responder for any events on campus. W e serve all students, faculty and staff, and we have at least one EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) on every shift."

There are three different jobs for members of the squad: the driver, the attendant and the crew chief.

"In order to be a driver, you have to have no points on your license and you have to be certified in CPR. We also have to be sure that you know how to handle the van and drive safely," said Bastedo.

To be an attendant, a volunteer needs to "have CPR [training], and they also have to be able to take blood pressure, pulse and [check] breathing, so they can get a general idea of how the patient is," Bastedo explained.

Finally, the crew chiefs are responsible for primary patient care.

"They have to be an EMT, which is a New York State certification. Most of our people take the class at the Government Center up here through the county. That's a 120-hour class, and it is a full state certification," said Bastedo. "We're certified to take care of fractures, and we're also certified in defibrillation, which is stopping the heart and allowing it to restart itself."

Bastedo wanted to clear up some apparent confusion regarding the way the Emergency Squad works. "I don't think people are clear on how we work with University Police," he said. "When [a person] calls UP or an ambulance, UP will dispatch us and an ambulance simultaneously. We're not an ambulance organization; we can't transport [patients] because of legalities. When the ambulance is on its way, our maximum response time is three minutes, so we get there and stabilize the patient and get them ready to go."

In addition to their regular services, the squad helps out with the blood drives, the Hepatitis B clinic and the Health Fair.

All members work on a volunteer basis, and there are currently about 38 members on the squad. "There are a lot of freshmen and sophomores, because most of the older people graduated last year, so we have a lot of new members. About half of our squad will be EMTs by December," stated Bastedo.

Regarding the training of new members, he stated, "We do all the training. We have a [CPR] instructor on the squad, so we can do the certification at a reduced cost, for about six dollars. We also teach how to take blood pressure."

Anyone interested in joining the Emergency Squad should submit an application to Captain Andrew Miller. Applications can be obtained at the Emergency Squad office in Wyoming Hall, or by e-mailing one of the officers at esquad@uno.cc.geneseo.edu. Completed applications can be dropped off at the Health Center, the Emergency Squad mailbox #123 in the College Union or addressed to the Emergency Squad and sent through campus mail. For further information regarding the Emergency Squad, check out their home page on the Internet at http://www.geneseo.edu/~esquad

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