MERT to expand services and campus presence

Penn’s Medical Emergency Response Team is looking to have a greater presence on campus this year — both by upgrading their services and educating the community.

Now four and a half years old, MERT has been in a state of transformation over the past year, moving to a new headquarters in the Lower Quadrangle in January and receiving unanimous support from the Undergraduate Assembly in its quest to acquire a vehicle last month.

“We are proud to work closely with DPS and Student Health in figuring out the best way to integrate a MERT vehicle with Penn’s response plan,” MERT Chief and College and Wharton senior Sourav Bose said, adding that they plan to continue the discussion over the next few months.

MERT also aims to become certified by the Emergency Medical Services as a Quick Response Service in the state of Pennsylvania. The requirements for certification are set to change within the next year or so, but MERT hopes that their current endeavors will help them reach the threshold.

National Collegiate EMS Week takes place from Nov. 8 to 14 this year, and according to Bose, MERT is working with a Management 100 team to plan ways to engage students with an event each day.

“We’d like to do a large campaign during EMS week to increase MERT’s presence in the campus community,” he said.

Ideas in the works include conducting CPR awareness activities that Monday, which is National Collegiate CPR Day, and staging a mass casualty incident drill — a mock catastrophe that challenges MERT and the University to work together for a large group of patients in a crisis situation.

Connecting with the community is an important goal of MERT. “I think MERT is sort of the epitome of the Penn spirit insofar as the multidisciplinary approach and mixing of departments,” Bose said. “We are one of the few ways in which students interact with the higher university — DPS, the Police Department, Student Health.”

MERT Administrative Director and College senior Anita Deshpande added that MERT has partnered with other organizations on campus to provide unique services to students. For instance, they are cosponsoring a spring break trip this year with Penn Outdoors, and have teamed with Penn’s Department of Recreation since last year to have standby EMS personnel at sports games.

Another item on the docket is creating their own institute to provide cheaper emergency medical technician training to Penn students, including their recruits.

“I think MERT is in an unparalleled situation. They save lives … I think it’s important for us as students to stand behind them,” UA President and College senior Matt Amalfitano said, calling the UA’s recent decision to support them in a resolution a “no brainer.”

All of this comes in anticipation of the 18th Annual National Collegiate EMS Foundation Conference in February, which will be held in Philadelphia this year.

At last year’s conference, MERT was awarded a Striving for Excellence award and was recognized as one of the top three up-and-coming programs. This year, MERT aims to be named the Outstanding Collegiate EMS Organization of the Year.

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