Collegiate EMS organizations with an EMS Ready Campus designation have shown excellence in emergency management and disaster preparedness. The honors are classified as either bronze, silver, or gold.
At last year’s conference, FUEMS reached the bronze tier for the first time and, in another “first,” won 2018 Collegiate EMS Organization of the Year. This year, after completing a series of additional tasks—expanding cardiopulmonary resuscitation training on campus, strengthening relationships with off-campus organizations like St. Barnabas Hospital, and completing more training courses—FUEMS was upgraded to silver.
“After winning the bronze tier last year, we wanted to go a step further and achieve silver,” said Logan Clair, FCRH ’19, the chief of medical staff at FUEMS. “It felt very rewarding and exciting when we got called up on stage.”
The student-led organization at Rose Hill has treated students, faculty members, and staff since 1977. For more than 40 years, Fordham’s EMS team has responded to situations that run the gamut: seizures, heart attacks, allergic reactions, asthma attacks, bone fractures, and more. FUEMS was even among the emergency crews that showed up at the World Trade Center on 9/11.
Today, the organization has approximately 170 members, of which nearly 30 are actively involved, said Clair. It’s been home to many student volunteers over the years—and many stories.
Alexis Verwoert, FCRH ’19, director of FUEMS, said sometimes it’s difficult to not wear her heart on her sleeve. She recalled responding to a patient who was experiencing a psychiatric emergency.
“People match emotions. I wanted, in that moment, to be as upset and as sad as that person was,” Verwoert said. “But the second I lose my cool, that person will also lose their cool. I had to remain calm and remember that I’m here to provide care and make sure that this person is going to be OK, eventually.”
At the end of the day, Clair said, FUEMS is all about care and community at Fordham.
“Helping our community and providing the best quality of care that we can for students [and staff]that may be going through a medical crisis, being there for them, and providing comfort for them is really rewarding,” Clair said.
