Five Quad Recognized for Excellence at National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Conference
ALBANY, N.Y. (March 13, 2025) — Five Quad recently brought home new hardware from the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation (NCEMSF)’s annual conference.
Five Quad Volunteer Ambulance Service is a New York State-certified ambulance agency operated by University at Albany students. The agency provides emergency services to the Uptown Campus and to the Albany and Guilderland communities within a five-mile radius, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, during the fall and spring semesters.
Student volunteers serve as CPR-certified ambulance attendants, emergency vehicle operators and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). They also serve on standby at events such as athletics, concerts and graduation.
Sixteen members of Five Quad attended the NCEMSF conference, which took place from Feb. 21-23 in Pittsburgh and featured representatives from more than 100 colleges.
Five Quad took home the top award, the EMS Ready Campus Gold Tier, becoming the first in New York State to earn this award. The service also won awards in areas including CPR education, EMS excellence and lifesaving response.
“I’ve loved having the opportunity to go to the NCEMSF conference every year,” said Five Quad’s President Audrey Coons, a senior studying human biology. “You’re surrounded by collegiate EMS students, all of whom have unique experiences to share. It’s an honor to have your service recognized.”
Five Quad's first award was a recertification as a “Heart Safe Campus.” Some requirements of this certification include offering cardiac arrest training and quality improvement initiatives, holding public CPR and AED training for the community, and having early access to advanced care.
They also received the “Striving for Excellence” recertification. To earn this award, organizations must meet certain standards such as delivery of care, training and continuing education of employees and volunteers, and service to the community. UAlbany was one of three colleges recognized this year.
A third recognition was the “CPR Save” award, which was given to a Five Quad crew that responded to a cardiac arrest on campus and was able to resuscitate the patient back to a normal heartbeat. The crew members who responded were Maddie Anderson, Makhi Jackson, Brianna Keach, Evelyn Bishop and Ryan Lin.
“Being on this call was very impactful on me and the work I do at Five Quad,” said Keach, a junior studying chemistry. “It gave me a new motivation to ensure that all Five Quad members feel confident in their CPR skills, along with other lifesaving services we provide to the campus community.”
The final award Five Quad earned was the Gold Tier as an “EMS Ready Campus.” UAlbany had previously won bronze in 2018, and silver in 2020, making gold their goal for 2021. But due to the pandemic, plans shifted, and the pursuit of a Gold Tier was put on hold. That is, until Coons made earning gold the focal point of her Five Quad presidential campaign.
Five Quad students doubled their training hours, and some members took a three-day emergency management course. Coons also planned an active threat drill and a multi-casualty incident drill that included the Albany Fire Department and the University Police Department.
“Winning this award felt amazing. I spent most of my summer and last two semesters planning and setting up ways to earn the Gold Tier this year,” said Coons. “When we were at the conference, I was so anxious, thinking to myself that we will finally find out the results. So, when we won gold, I was so proud.”
“Five Quad has instilled in me a deep sense of love, passion and commitment to helping people in our community, solidifying my desire to enter the healthcare field. Winning this award was a major accomplishment for all of us,” added Five Quad Vice President Junior Salomon, a senior studying human biology.
For more information on Five Quad, visit the website.