Student ambulance service almost ready

University students may soon be able to participate in a student-run emergency ambulance service. PENNCORPS, an idea that has been in the making for the past three years, is almost ready to begin its first training phase. Founder Todd Fruchterman, a first year medical student, said Wednesday that PENNCORPS is ready to begin its publicity campaign to find interested students. Fruchterman said hopes to determine how many students are already trained emergency medical technicians and how many are interested in being trained. "If the number of medical technicians is large, then we can start operations next semester,"said Fructerman. "But if there are few trained MTs, but many people interested in the program, then we will start running a training program, probably in October." Once established, PENNCORPS would provide emergency transportation service for calls in the University City area. Pairs of students would work in shifts, responding to calls from the department of Public Safety, Fructerman said. "We're hoping for 365 day, 24-hour coverage," Fructerman added. "But we can't determine if that's possible until we know how much manpower we have." The 130 hour training program would certify students as emergency medical technicians, Fructerman said. He said he hopes to have between 50 and 60 students trained in the first session. "This will give us a really nice nucleus with which to start the program," Fructerman said. University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich said yesterday that he supports the program because of the volunteer opportunity it creates for students and the help PENNCORPS will give the community. He also added, however, that PENNCORPS is not yet an established organization. "The important thing to remember is that [PENNCORPS] is not off the ground yet," Kuprevich said. "I do believe it's a great idea, but we have a long way to go before we know if it will work at Penn." Fructerman said he believes the program is worthwhile, because it will cut down on ambulance response time and help the already overburdened Philadelphia emergency response teams. "It's a unique program," Fructerman added. "We will discover what kind of care you can give in an urban environment by minimizing the response time with basic life support." PENNCORPS' proposal states that the program will handle calls normally taken by University Police. Fructerman said he believes that the program will give students the chance to experience real emergency medical situations. "For students interested in medicine, it's a good program because it allows them to learn about medicine first hand," Fructerman said. "It helps round out their experiences as a doctor and gives them practial experience with real calls." College sophomore Brian Shoe, a certified medical technician who was recruited last year by Fructerman, plans to start printing up fliers to publicize PENNCORPS next week. "I think PENNCORPS is a great opportunity," Shoe said yesterday. "I didn't want my certification to just sit there. I think the University really needs this program."

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