RIT Ambulance
Encyclopedia
RIT Ambulance is a New York State Certified Ambulance
Corps, run as a student organization at the Rochester Institute of Technology
. The ambulance serves the entire Rochester Institute of Technology
campus and portions of surrounding Henrietta, New York
.
RIT Ambulance provides coverage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the year, except during institute closing during Christmas break. The ambulance is staffed on a volunteer basis by students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
For many years the RIT Ambulance Corps was only dispatched to emergencies by RIT Public Safety, but in 1993 became a Monroe County
EMS subscriber. Subscription to the Monroe County system served to ensure that 9-1-1
calls on the RIT Campus would be appropriately routed to RIT Ambulance Corps rather than to the Henrietta Ambulance.
which defines two different organizational divisions. The Executive Board is the primary body for organizational oversight and personnel management. The Operations Staff is in charge of handling the day to day issues of the ambulance corps. The structure of these groups are listed below.
The Executive Board is elected by the membership. Positions are filled annually or as vacancies occur. The only member of the Operations Staff that is directly elected by the membership is the Chief of Operations. The Chief is then responsible for appointing well qualified personnel to the Operations Staff, including the Deputy Chief, Lieutenants, and Training Director. Members then vote to ratify these appointments at the next monthly membership meeting.
Meetings are held for both bodies on a regular basis. Generally, the Executive Board meets on a weekly basis while the Operations Staff holds meetings on a bi-weekly basis. The meetings are open to all that choose to attend except for small portions of closed discussion on private and sensitive issues.
Observer
Observers are basic members of the RIT Ambulance corps. Observers receive blood borne pathogen
training and are certified in basic CPR. Observers are typically new members working on qualifications in another area.
Driver
Drivers are responsible for safely operating the ambulance
in both emergency and non-emergency capacity. Drives to a scene, assists with patient care, and transports to the hospital.
Dispatcher
Dispatcher
s coordinate communications between the RIT Ambulance personnel, additional responding units, RIT's Public Safety department, and the Monroe County
EMS dispatcher.
Medic
Medic
s are directly responsible for patient care. Medics must be listed as an EMT Basic in New York
before being allowed to participate in patient care.
Medical Command Officer
Medical Command Officers, or MCOs, are responsible for handling any operational issues during their shift. The MCO also responds to calls meeting specific criteria including: more than one ambulance is responding or triage
is required, HAZMAT
incidents, confirmed structure fire
(s) on campus, motor vehicle accident with reported people trapped, vehicle overturned, or RIT Ambulance vehicle involved. An MCO may also respond to any RIT Ambulance call at his or her discretion, but will likely not engage in patient care unless requested to do so or under extreme circumstances.
Probationary Trainee
Probationary Trainees have had a minimal amount of training and may not accompany a qualified personnel on a response.
Trainee
Trainees have completed additional training, and may accompany qualified personnel on responses.
Apprentice
Apprentices have completed all required training, but have not yet participated in enough responses or had enough experience to be recognized by the Operations Staff.
Cleared
Cleared members have completed all training, and are approved to operate autonomously.
Trainer
Trainers are qualified members, often with experience from outside of the RIT Ambulance, who instruct RITA members on operations and conduct training classes.
Anyone not qualified in a position generally accompanys a qualified Medic as a trainee until qualified. There are varying levels of training and clearance as outlined in the unit's Standard Operating Procedures.
RIT Ambulance operates two emergency vehicles
Both vehicles carry a variety of medical supplies and equipment including oxygen
, defibrillators, atropine
, albuterol
, aspirin
and epinephrine
which allow life saving response to emergencies.
, the Rochester Institute of Technology
, and the RIT Student Health Center.
RIT Ambulance responds to all medical emergencies on RIT's campus. RIT Ambulance also honors a limited mutual aid
agreement with Henrietta Volunteer Ambulance
which allows it to assist as a backup responder when Henrietta ambulances are unavailable. RIT Ambulance is also a member of the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation.
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
Corps, run as a student organization at the Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
. The ambulance serves the entire Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
campus and portions of surrounding Henrietta, New York
Henrietta, New York
Henrietta is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Rochester. The population was 42,581 at the 2010 census. Established in 1818, the town is named after Henrietta Laura Pulteney, Countess of Bath, daughter of Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet, a major British...
.
RIT Ambulance provides coverage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the year, except during institute closing during Christmas break. The ambulance is staffed on a volunteer basis by students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
History
In 1981, RIT's Student Safety team became a certified ambulance corps known as RIT Emergency Medical Unit. In 1983 it was renamed to RIT Ambulance.For many years the RIT Ambulance Corps was only dispatched to emergencies by RIT Public Safety, but in 1993 became a Monroe County
Monroe County, New York
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 744,344. It is named after James Monroe, fifth President of the United States of America. Its county seat is the city of Rochester....
EMS subscriber. Subscription to the Monroe County system served to ensure that 9-1-1
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
calls on the RIT Campus would be appropriately routed to RIT Ambulance Corps rather than to the Henrietta Ambulance.
Organizational structure
RIT Ambulance is governed by a constitutionConstitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
which defines two different organizational divisions. The Executive Board is the primary body for organizational oversight and personnel management. The Operations Staff is in charge of handling the day to day issues of the ambulance corps. The structure of these groups are listed below.
The Executive Board is elected by the membership. Positions are filled annually or as vacancies occur. The only member of the Operations Staff that is directly elected by the membership is the Chief of Operations. The Chief is then responsible for appointing well qualified personnel to the Operations Staff, including the Deputy Chief, Lieutenants, and Training Director. Members then vote to ratify these appointments at the next monthly membership meeting.
Meetings are held for both bodies on a regular basis. Generally, the Executive Board meets on a weekly basis while the Operations Staff holds meetings on a bi-weekly basis. The meetings are open to all that choose to attend except for small portions of closed discussion on private and sensitive issues.
Membership
RIT Ambulance membership is open to RIT students, faculty and staff. While anyone can be a member, a great deal of training and commitment is required to become cleared in a position. Members who have cleared are assigned a radio identifier and are allowed to work without a trainer on the ambulance or first response vehicle.Positions
RIT Ambulance members work in at least one of several areas:Observer
Observers are basic members of the RIT Ambulance corps. Observers receive blood borne pathogen
Pathogen
A pathogen gignomai "I give birth to") or infectious agent — colloquially, a germ — is a microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus that causes disease in its animal or plant host...
training and are certified in basic CPR. Observers are typically new members working on qualifications in another area.
Driver
Drivers are responsible for safely operating the ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
in both emergency and non-emergency capacity. Drives to a scene, assists with patient care, and transports to the hospital.
Dispatcher
Dispatcher
Dispatcher
Dispatchers are communications personnel responsible for receiving and transmitting pure and reliable messages, tracking vehicles and equipment, and recording other important information...
s coordinate communications between the RIT Ambulance personnel, additional responding units, RIT's Public Safety department, and the Monroe County
Monroe County, New York
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 744,344. It is named after James Monroe, fifth President of the United States of America. Its county seat is the city of Rochester....
EMS dispatcher.
Medic
Medic
Medic
Medic is a general term for a person involved in medicine, especially emergency or first-response medicine, such as an emergency medical technician, paramedic, or a military member trained in battlefield medicine. Also the term is used toward a Nurse in pre-hospital care and/or emergency...
s are directly responsible for patient care. Medics must be listed as an EMT Basic in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
before being allowed to participate in patient care.
Medical Command Officer
Medical Command Officers, or MCOs, are responsible for handling any operational issues during their shift. The MCO also responds to calls meeting specific criteria including: more than one ambulance is responding or triage
Triage
Triage or ) is the process of determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their condition. This rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately. The term comes from the French verb trier, meaning to separate,...
is required, HAZMAT
Hazmat
Hazmat, HazMat and similar terms can refer to:* Hazardous materials and items—see Dangerous goods** Hazchem—a system of hazardous chemical classification and firefighting modes** A hazmat suit is a type of protective clothing...
incidents, confirmed structure fire
Structure fire
A structure fire is a fire involving the structural components of various residential buildings ranging from single-family detached homes and townhouses to apartments and tower blocks, or various commercial buildings ranging from offices to shopping malls...
(s) on campus, motor vehicle accident with reported people trapped, vehicle overturned, or RIT Ambulance vehicle involved. An MCO may also respond to any RIT Ambulance call at his or her discretion, but will likely not engage in patient care unless requested to do so or under extreme circumstances.
Training
in the Ambulance corps. Members must work through various stages of qualification, with each stage having additional training and added responsibility. Typically, a member would progress through the following stages:Probationary Trainee
Probationary Trainees have had a minimal amount of training and may not accompany a qualified personnel on a response.
Trainee
Trainees have completed additional training, and may accompany qualified personnel on responses.
Apprentice
Apprentices have completed all required training, but have not yet participated in enough responses or had enough experience to be recognized by the Operations Staff.
Cleared
Cleared members have completed all training, and are approved to operate autonomously.
Trainer
Trainers are qualified members, often with experience from outside of the RIT Ambulance, who instruct RITA members on operations and conduct training classes.
Anyone not qualified in a position generally accompanys a qualified Medic as a trainee until qualified. There are varying levels of training and clearance as outlined in the unit's Standard Operating Procedures.
Vehicles
| Name | Year | Vehicle Info | Unit Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6359 | 2006 | Road Rescue Metro Medic | Transport Ambulance |
| Defib 63 | 2011 | Chevrolet Tahoe Chevrolet Tahoe The Chevrolet Tahoe are full-size SUVs from General Motors. Chevrolet and GMC sold two different-sized SUVs under their Blazer/Jimmy model names through the early 1990s. This situation changed when GMC rebadged the full-size Jimmy as the Yukon in 1992... |
First Response Vehicle |
Both vehicles carry a variety of medical supplies and equipment including oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
, defibrillators, atropine
Atropine
Atropine is a naturally occurring tropane alkaloid extracted from deadly nightshade , Jimson weed , mandrake and other plants of the family Solanaceae. It is a secondary metabolite of these plants and serves as a drug with a wide variety of effects...
, albuterol
Salbutamol
Salbutamol or albuterol is a short-acting β2-adrenergic receptor agonist used for the relief of bronchospasm in conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is marketed as Ventolin among other brand names....
, aspirin
Aspirin
Aspirin , also known as acetylsalicylic acid , is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains, as an antipyretic to reduce fever, and as an anti-inflammatory medication. It was discovered by Arthur Eichengrun, a chemist with the German company Bayer...
and epinephrine
Epinephrine
Epinephrine is a hormone and a neurotransmitter. It increases heart rate, constricts blood vessels, dilates air passages and participates in the fight-or-flight response of the sympathetic nervous system. In chemical terms, adrenaline is one of a group of monoamines called the catecholamines...
which allow life saving response to emergencies.
Relations with other emergency organizations
RIT Ambulance receives its right to function from the New York State Department of HealthNew York State Department of Health
The New York State Department of Health, ', is the governmental body responsible for public health in the state of New York. The cabinet-level department is headed by the Health Commissioner, a position held since January 24, 2011 by Nirav R. Shah, M.D., M.P.H.....
, the Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
, and the RIT Student Health Center.
RIT Ambulance responds to all medical emergencies on RIT's campus. RIT Ambulance also honors a limited mutual aid
Mutual aid (emergency services)
In emergency services, mutual aid is an agreement among emergency responders to lend assistance across jurisdictional boundaries. This may occur due to an emergency response that exceeds local resources, such as a disaster or a multiple-alarm fire. Mutual aid may be ad hoc, requested only when...
agreement with Henrietta Volunteer Ambulance
Henrietta Volunteer Ambulance
Henrietta Volunteer Ambulance is an independent, not-for-profit incorporated, certified NYS ALS Ambulance Service. Primary coverage consists of the town of Henrietta, with first-due ALS coverage provided to RIT, Rush, and Scottsville...
which allows it to assist as a backup responder when Henrietta ambulances are unavailable. RIT Ambulance is also a member of the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation.