ALBANY, N.Y. — The University at Albany’s Five Quad Volunteer Ambulance Service has been named the 2015 EMS Organization of the Year by the National Collegiate Emergency Foundation (NCEMSF).
Five Quad was selected at the NCEMSF 22nd annual conference for “Organization of the Year” from a pool of 141 collegiate EMS teams across the nation. The group also placed third in NCEMSF’s skills competition and first in its “mock” mass causality incident competition.
“This has been one of the greatest years for Five Quad in its history,” said Andrew Chen, senior and Five Quad Director of Operations.
“Our staff has dedicated countless hours to ensure the availability of emergency services to UAlbany students and the community. It’s a very rewarding feeling to see our EMS volunteers, past and present, get the recognition they deserve.”
Additionally, the University at Albany was one of eight universities to be awarded the HEARTSafe Campus designation. Launched in 2013, the HEARTSafe Campus initiative was developed to raise awareness, training and safety of cardiac arrest emergencies. In order to qualify, Five Quad certified over 1,000 current students in hands-only CPR.
Founded in 1973, Five Quad is entirely run by students. Its volunteers provide 24-hour basic life support and free ambulance transportation during the fall and spring semesters. Services are available to the university campus and surrounding areas of Albany and Guilderland. Five Quad responds to around 600 emergency calls during the academic year.