To increase access to immediate medical services at University of Wisconsin events, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services approved a UW student-led volunteer organization that provides non-transport EMT services.

The group, UWPD First Responders, currently consists of 18 volunteers who are affiliated with the university and who are trained to provide onsite medical aid, said UWPD Lt. and First Responders Unit Commander Michael Newton.

Any undergraduate or graduate student, faculty member or alumnus, can volunteer as long as he or she is EMT certified through the state or is currently enrolled in an EMT class, Newton said.

The group evolved from the campuswide interest group known as Student Emergency Medical Services, which started in 2007.

The evolution resulted in an organization that grants students the opportunity to apply their science-based knowledge and to gain hands-on medical experience, said Emily Anstadt, UW senior and founder of Student Emergency Medical Services and UWPD First Responders infection control officer.

After consulting with UW legal services, which helped the group of EMTs produce the necessary documents for their state application, the organization received approval from the DHS and formed a partnership with the UWPD, said Katie Egan, UW junior and UWPD First Responder service director.

“Since student groups are not generally covered by liability insurance, we took this group under the umbrella of our department so they could receive protection,” Newton said. “We now offer oversight and cover the costs for supplies and training.”

The organization met its final requirement by instituting UW Hospital Emergency Department physician Peter Falk as the medical director who provides medical training and oversight and is available 24-hours per day by phone, Egan said.

A second partnership also developed with the Division of Recreational Sports because some sporting events possessed a great need for onsite medical support that simply was not being met, Newton said.

“At each sporting event, there are usually one to two patients who suffer mild injuries, yet on a couple occasions there have been patients who have sustained serious head injuries or injuries with excessive bleeding,” Egan said.

In these instances, UWPD First Responders provide more immediate care than the Madison Fire Department paramedics because they guarantee that someone will be on site who is licensed to treat the injury, Egan added.

UWPD First Responders volunteers also aid the UWPD at football games by monitoring students who have been arrested and detained yet are still at risk for injury, Egan stated.

“It is terrific that students are doing this because we need more people who have the appropriate training and background to provide quality, immediate health care and to improve the injured person’s ability to recover completely,” said Stephanie Marquis, spokesperson for Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Egan added UWPD First Responders is one of only two student organizations in the state of Wisconsin that offers these emergency services.

“Over the next five years, I hope that we are able to expand our services to include all students, rather than simply athletes at sporting events,” Egan said. “Hopefully, we will transform into a general first responder group that works even more closely with the Madison Fire Department.”