SCU EMS Expand their Reach to Serve Off-Campus Students
The Santa Clara - 3 October 2025
Written By Dani Jankowski and Karla Hernandez
Members of the 2024-2025 SCU EMS team pose in front of the Mission Church. Photo provided by SCU EMS.
Santa Clara University’s emergency medical services organization, most commonly known as SCU EMS, announced last spring an expansion of response areas to include the south Neighborhood Units, mainly on Bellomy Street and Market Street—a move that marks the first time the organization has been permitted to respond to off-campus emergencies.
SCU EMS is a student-led emergency medical care organization that operates under the Cowell Health Center. Their staff consists of student volunteers who are EMT licensed and provide assistance and a second opinion if students find themselves in a medical issue and are unsure of how to proceed.
“This is pretty big for us,” said EMS Director, Max Gundlach ’27 about the expansion. Until now, legal jurisdiction has strictly limited SCU EMS to responding only to medical emergencies on the main University campus. They pushed for a change because they believed there was a better way to serve all students.
“There was some particular cases that we wanted to respond to, but we couldn’t because of how our procedures work,” said Gundlach. “We had some incentives from the community that wanted us to go to the area, so we were able to expand.”
They note the importance of being able to reach these areas, as it’s where most fraternities and sororities are located. The organization is focused on ensuring students have access to medical services even if they’re not located on campus.
“I think that getting the word out is the most important part,” said Claire Richart ’27, the organization’s assistant director. “I’m not sure if people know that is an option for them.”
By calling the Campus Safety emergency phone number, (408) 554-4444, SCU EMS can provide life-saving support or simply check in anywhere on campus within 3.5 minutes. There are no fees or expenses, and all cases are reported through the Cowell Health Center so the same confidentiality rules apply.
“If you have some worry about some medical problem, like your blood pressure, or have some other medical condition, you would call us,” said Gundlach. “The call would go through Campus Safety, they dispatch us to the scene, we would show up and then we would look at the scene size up.”
The staff is equipped with a range of treatments and can provide stabilizing care and basic life support, which includes administering oxygen as well as first aid. If other medical care can’t get there in time, SCU EMS can also help ensure students will make it to the hospital.
“If somebody is having a heart issue, we’re the first people on scene, so we have to be able to save their life,” Gundlach said.
SCU EMS had a total of 27 calls in just the first two weeks of the new school year. The overwhelming majority of calls the team sees are typically “suspected EtOH,” or alcohol poisoning related situations. “Those can actually end up being really serious,” said Richart “Checking on them to see if they’re okay, staying with them and taking vitals, all that stuff is pretty important.”
If students need to call SCU EMS, they receive medical amnesty—an assurance that they can receive medical attention while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and will not be disciplined.
“For any call where you might be in violation of campus rules, you will not get in trouble at all for that very first call,” Gundlach said.
In the future, SCU EMS hopes to expand to different areas around campus and serve even more Santa Clara University students. They also hope to grow with the different care they can offer, get new materials and receive more training.
Gundalch hopes that students “know we’re a campus utility that they can lean on. “I think it’s good for us and good for them, that they know we exist and we are there if they need us,” he said.
