Rice’s Rescuers
By Arie Wilson • Photography by Tommy Lavergne
With Rice University located across the street from one of the world’s largest medical centers, some people may find it hard to believe the campus needs its own emergency medical service. But when an accident occurs within the hedges and every passing second can mean the difference between life and death, having a team of life-saving professionals on campus improves the odds of a good outcome.
Since the program’s inception in 1996, Rice Emergency Medical Services, or REMS, has grown from a handful of student volunteers with basic emergency medical certification to a 48-member university-sanctioned division of the Rice University Police Department, with the majority of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) holding advanced life-support certification.
REMS director Cathy Sunday says having an advanced life-support first-responder organization that is registered with the Texas Department of State Health Services is a feat in itself, much less maintaining a completely volunteer life-saving organization. Sunday, a licensed paramedic with more than 20 years of experience, is the division’s only salaried university employee.
All the REMS EMTs have secured certification on their own and volunteer their time to help keep the university safe. Many of the EMTs have advanced and specialty certifications that allow for more than basic administration of emergency care.
“With basic certification, EMTs can give limited medications and administer blood-loss control, splinting, shock management and cardiopulmonary resuscitation,” Sunday says. “The advanced certification takes them even farther, allowing our EMTs to intubate, perform intravenous and intraosseous [into bone] therapies and advanced medication administration.”
REMS averages about three to four emergency calls a day. The problems range from sports injuries and general illnesses to automobile accident injuries and cardiac arrests. And with an average response time of only a little more than three minutes, REMS gets to the scene sooner than other local EMS or first-responders.
“It is important for people to realize that this isn’t a student organization or club,” Sunday says. “REMS is a department of this university that has students providing the EMS services. These students are the cream of the crop. They go above and beyond to be here doing this, providing a free service to their school and community.”
Students undergo rigorous training to become certified EMTs. They must take HEAL 308, Rice’s basic EMT course, or complete a comparable program at another institution and then pass state and national certification exams. In addition, EMS members are required to perform 36 hours of ride-alongs in area ambulances each semester to qualify for REMS. While securing their certification, members often choose to volunteer in local emergency rooms. Some pursue the advanced certification, which requires a second, more intense class but allows them to administer IVs or intubate patients.
Since the students volunteer for REMS in addition to their regular course work, Sunday says, becoming a part of the organization is a major commitment and requires dedication and superb time-management skills.
Dania Daye ’07 served as the REMS operations lieutenant and chair of the REMS Anniversary Committee. Daye was responsible for overseeing some aspects of the daily operation of REMS, such as ordering medical supplies, purchasing and maintaining medical and communications equipment and ensuring the EMS vehicles are in good working condition.
While some students become EMTs because they want to attend medical school and need the experience, Daye says, others do it for the rewarding feeling of helping others. “It can be very addicting,” she says. “I would have ridden along with local ambulances a lot more if I didn’t make myself stop and focus on other things. There’s no other feeling like it.”
Daye’s administrative duties were no less rewarding. She worked to get more automated external defibrillators on campus. “It is something that could save a person’s life,” she says.
Former REMS captain Cameron Decker ’07 was the highest-ranking student member. Decker says REMS was a big selling point for the university when he was applying to schools across the country. “I remember reviewing the REMS Web site very closely my senior year of high school and thinking it was an organization I could participate in to make a difference in my community,” Decker says. “Four years later, I look back and see how much progress we made. We not only maintained and expanded our tradition of excellence but also transitioned to advanced life-support care, a goal that had been in development since shortly after the department was founded.”
REMS has a long history of students wanting to give back to Rice and help ensure the safety of future Owls. Then-undergraduates Mark Escott ’96 and Noah Reiter ’00 were instrumental in getting the program funded, and by 1996, the first training course was held to create a staff of students to respond to emergencies. After many discussions with local EMS providers, meetings with administrators, data calculations, budgeting, and development, REMS began emergency response operations on Oct. 4, 1996.
The first life saved by REMS occurred just eight days after the organization was formed. During a wedding reception at the Faculty Club, an elderly woman collapsed on the dance floor in cardiac arrest. A REMS EMT happened to be working as a waitress at the event, and she began CPR within 30 seconds. The REMS crew on duty and supervisors arrived less than two minutes later to continue life-saving efforts, as did the Houston Fire Department. After they used a defibrillator to restart her heart, she began breathing again, and she was talking by the time the fire department ambulance got her to the hospital.
REMS responds to campus emergencies around the clock and on holidays, with the exception of winter and spring breaks, when calls are routed to the Houston Fire Department. Space in colleges is even donated for REMS members who live off campus, so they can remain on campus throughout their shifts.
“It can be an extremely time-consuming and stressful job, but there are very few occupations that allow you to step into a total stranger’s life and instantly receive 100 percent of their trust,” Decker says. “What we do is incredibly unique: How many other college students are fortunate enough to experience the extraordinarily rewarding feeling of truly saving a fellow human’s life?”
REMS members are confident they will continue their award-winning service. Rice University has been honored numerous times by the National Collegiate EMS Foundation. REMS received the Campus EMS Organization of the Year award in 2000, recognizing the organization’s excellent service to the university. REMS founder Noah Reiter won the Campus EMS Provider of the Year award in 1999 and the Campus EMS Advisor of the Year award in 2001 for his work in organizing and supporting REMS both during his time at Rice and after he graduated. In addition, REMS has received the Striving for Excellence Award.
In March, REMS members celebrated the program’s 10th anniversary with a formal reception and dinner for staff and alumni.
