RIT Ambulance
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| RIT Ambulance |
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| Established | 1981 |
| Staffing | Volunteer |
| Strength | 65 |
| Stations | 1 |
| EMS Units | 2 |
| EMS Level | BLS |
RIT Ambulance (RITA) is a student run Emergency Medical Services organization at the Rochester Institute of Technology which responds emergencies. This organization serves the entire Rochester Institute of Technology campus and part of the surrounding town of Henrietta, New York. RIT Ambulance is a New York State Certified Ambulance Corps and a member of the National Collegiate EMS Foundation (NCEMSF).
RIT Ambulance responds to all medical emergencies on RIT property including the residence halls, academic buildings and apartment complexes. RIT Ambulance also honors a mutual aid agreement with Henrietta Volunteer Ambulance (HVA) which allows it to assist as a backup responder when additional Henrietta ambulances are unavailable.
RIT Ambulance provides coverage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the year except during institute closing during Christmas break. Organization staffing is provided on a volunteer basis by students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
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[edit] History
RIT Ambulance receives its right to function from the New York State Department of Health, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the RIT Student Health Center. It originated from the Student Safety which in 1981 became a certified ambulance corps known as RIT Emergency Medical Unit. It has since been renamed to RIT Ambulance.
For many years the RIT Ambulance Corps was only dispatched to emergencies by RIT Public Safety, but in 1993 finally 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.
[edit] Vehicles
RIT Ambulance operates two emergency vehicles
| Name | Year | Vehicle Info | Unit Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6359 | 2006 | Road Rescue Metro Medic | Transport Ambulance |
| Defib 63 | 2001 | Chevrolet Tahoe | First Response Vehicle |
Both vehicles carry a variety of medical supplies and equipment including oxygen, defibrillators, albuterol and epinephrine which allow life saving response to emergencies. In the state of New York emergency vehicles are required to comply with Part 800 of the Public Health Law. This law states the required equipment for certified ambulances and first response vehicles.
[edit] Organizational Structure
| Executive Board | |
| President | Michael Stern |
| Vice-President | Omar Ghani |
| Chief of Operations | Stephen Hoover |
| Secretary | Greg Hintz |
| Equipment Director | Knycos Ferguson |
| Member At Large | Christopher Dunn |
| Member At Large | Andrew Harris |
RIT Ambulance is governed by a constitution 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 for the ambulance corps. The structure of these groups, in order of succession, are listed to the left.
The Executive Board of the organization is elected by the membership through a process of voting. Positions are filled every year at the annual meeting, and as vacancies occur. The only member of the Operations Staff that is elected by the membership is the Chief of Operations. The Chief is then responsible for appointing personnel to the Operations Staff in the positions of Deputy Chief and Lieutenants. The membership then votes to ratify these appointments at the next monthly membership meeting.
Meetings are held for both bodies on a regular basis. The Executive Board generally 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.
| Operations Staff | |
| Chief of Operations | Stephen Hoover |
| Deputy Chief of Operations | Matthew Busa |
| 1st Lieutenant | Michael Saltis |
| 2nd Lieutenant | Eric March |
[edit] Membership
RIT Ambulance membership is open to all RIT students, faculty, staff and alumni. A current list of the complete membership is available on this page.
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 alone on the ambulance or first response vehicle. A current list of the cleared membership is available here.
[edit] Positions
The following positions exist at RIT Ambulance
- Dispatcher - Responsible for coordinating radio traffic with the ambulance, additional responding units, public safety and the EMS dispatcher.
- Driver - Responsible for safely operating the ambulance in both emergency and non-emergency capacity. Must driver to a scene, assist with patient care, and transport to the hospital. Must have CEVO or EVOC training and complete an extensive training course.
- Medic - Responsible for patient care. Must be an NYS EMT-B and complete an extensive training course including epinephrine and albuterol usage and defibrillation.
Anyone not cleared in a position is generally working in a trainee capacity towards clearance. There are varying levels of training and clearance as outlined in the Standard Operating Procedures which are available in the documents section below.
[edit] Statistics
Detailed statistics are available at the following page RIT Ambulance Call Statistics
[edit] Documents
Listed below are the important documents for RIT Ambulance. These are links directly to the RIT Ambulance main web page which can be accessed through this link. The application for membership is available in the paper form listed below but can also be completed online!
