Longhorn Student EMS

The University of Texas has decided not to provide insurance or legal protection to a student EMS group on campus.  Since this is my alma mater, I felt compelled to share my $0.02 with University of Texas President Gregory Fenves.  If you feel compelled to reach out, do so (and keep it polite).  He can be emailed at President@utexas.edu

Dear President Fenves:

It’s rare that I find myself writing an email that hits multiple areas of who I am – a Texan, a Longhorn (BA 1996), an attorney, and a paramedic.  But the decision of the University to deny funding for Longhorn EMS’s liability insurance and/or assumption of liability hits home for me.

The University of Texas and the University of Texas System are blessed with many outstanding attorneys, both of counsel to the University and the System and throughout the faculty.  I would never take away from their counsel or guidance, but I would note to you that the liability for the provision of emergency medical services in Texas, especially by a governmental entity, is exceptionally limited. Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Codes §§74.151-74.154 and Texas Health and Safety Code §773.009 provide broad protection and multiple Texas appellate court decisions have broadened said liability protection.  As such, I would assert that the legal liability for the provision of emergency medical services, particularly at the EMT/basic life support level, is exceptionally limited and that the costs of any liability insurance would reflect such limited exposure. In short, this concern about legal liability on behalf of the University is a red herring at best.

University spokesperson Bird’s statements that the University wants students to be students and not to take on potentially dangerous professional responsibilities is, at best, ignorant of many students who are already certified as EMS personnel or might even be in the armed services.  Wanting students to be students first ignores that many students already are working including as employees of the University. Several UT students already work as emergency medical services providers in other venues even including as employees of the organizations that provide EMS coverage for University athletic events.  Additionally, many students of the University already volunteer in many campus organizations, several of which provide direct services for the University. And finally, there’s the eight hundred pound gorilla in the room that shatters the illusion that students should be only students – namely, men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletics. I am pretty certain that the time involved to become an emergency medical technician and remain active with a student EMS organization is a small commitment in comparison to the time that student athletes spend in service to the University.

From a public safety standpoint, having an on campus EMS system makes sense.  Even on an urban campus like the University, EMS response time takes time. The closest Austin Fire Department stations to campus, Station 2 on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Station 3 on West 30th Street do not have ambulances.  The closest ambulance, if available for assignment, is Medic 3, located in the parking garage of the old Brackenridge Hospital.  At best, there is a delay in getting emergency care to campus.  Having responded to the University campus as an EMS provider, I can tell you that calls on campus are a challenge, especially in getting emergency resources to the right location because of the combination of obstacles in terms of vehicle access, determining the right location, and getting access/entry into University buildings, many of which are secured.  In a critical emergency such as cardiac arrest, severe allergic reaction, or uncontrolled bleeding, having a trained set of hands on scene sooner can, will, and does regularly make a significant difference in patient outcome.  In some cases, that difference in patient outcome is life as opposed to death.  Waiting for City of Austin resources and also waiting for someone from the University to provide access to a building just doesn’t make sense. And in case of a severe emergency or disaster, having “all hands on deck” and a force multiplier in the form of a University recognized and accredited group of EMS providers can and does make a difference.

The University has always encouraged public service.

As an undergraduate government major, my spirit of public service and engagement was encouraged and nourished by Dr. Janice May’s classes on state government and her public service internship program which gave me a foundation and prepared me for a career in state government. Especially as the University develops its own medical school and expands its involvement in all aspects of healthcare, encouraging a student volunteer EMS program is a no-brainer decision.  Encouraging students to volunteer and to become engaged in healthcare is, plain and simple, an outgrowth of the University’s mission to educate.  Such a program should be encouraged, not stopped. Many notable physicians and healthcare leaders got their first exposure to EMS, medicine, and volunteerism through campus EMS programs.

Texas A&M University has long had a student-run EMS.  In fact, Texas A&M University has student-run EMS for university events as well as a separate EMS program that provides paramedic-level ambulance coverage for the university campus as well as providing mutual aid backup coverage to the cities of Bryan and College Station.  Rice University has a student-run EMS program operating under the supervision and guidance of their campus police department. Rice’s EMS program operates as a campus first response organization, providing advanced EMT level care until the arrival of the Houston Fire Department’s ambulances. Colleges and universities throughout the United States have campus EMS organizations.  In fact, there’s even a National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation that exists to guide and promote campus EMS programs.  At the University of Texas, we are a “University of the first class,” as described by Article 7, Section 10 of the Texas Constitution.  More bluntly, to quote our former athletic director, DeLoss Dodds, “We are the Joneses.”  The University of Texas shouldn’t take a back seat to anyone. And that includes providing emergency medical services to the University community and its visitors.

Bluntly, the idea of a student EMS on the Forty Acres has grown in fits and starts.  Good intentions alone are nowhere near enough. And some of the attempts to provide this service have been, at times, amateurish. That is why it’s even more imperative for the University to recognize, fund, and support this effort, if for no other reason than to provide the resources of the University to supervise these students and ensure that what goes on with this organization is a credit to and not a harm to the University.

If I may offer my services to you, the University, or these students, I stand ready to do so – as a volunteer.  I am a Texas licensed attorney, a Texas licensed (and nationally registered) paramedic, a Texas EMS instructor, and a proud Texas Ex.

I encourage you to reconsider the University’s decision and strongly commend you to take steps to help this fledgling EMS program get the right start it needs.

Respectfully submitted (and Hook Em Horns!).