Five Quad Ambulance Service Named EMS Organization of the Year

The National Collegiate Emergency Foundation (NCEMSF) has honored UAlbany’s Five Quad Volunteer Ambulance Service team as the 2015 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Organization of the Year. NCEMSF also designated UAlbany as a HEARTSafe Campus for the next three years. (Photo provided by Five Quad)

ALBANY, N.Y. (April 7, 2015) – The University at Albany’s Five Quad Volunteer Ambulance Service has been named the 2015 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Organization of the Year by the National Collegiate Emergency Foundation (NCEMSF).

NCEMSF announced awards for outstanding emergency service at its 22nd annual conference in Baltimore last month. Five Quad was selected 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.

Additionally, UAlbany 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 UAlbany students in hands-only CPR. UAlbany will hold the designation for a three-year period, from 2015-18.

“This has been one of the greatest years for Five Quad in its history,” said Andrew Chen, UAlbany 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.”

Founded in 1973, Five Quad is entirely run by UAlbany students and funded through the Student Association Activity Fee. Its volunteers provide 24-hour basic life support and free ambulance transportation during the fall and spring semester. Services are available to the University campus and surrounding areas of Albany and Guilderland. On average, Five Quad responds to around 600 emergency calls during the academic year.

Outside of emergency response, Five Quad members who are American Heart Association certified in BLS/CPR/AED run a community training program. Free classes are offered to the UAlbany campus community including CPR/AED certification, First Aid and basic EMT training.

NCEMSF serves as an umbrella organization supporting over 250 colleges and universities in providing campus-based emergency medical services. Its 22nd annual conference featured over 1,100 representatives from more than 100 collegiate EMS organizations. Some of the affiliated schools in attendance included Binghamton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania.

Additional information on NCEMSF can be found online. To learn more about Five Quad visit the group’s official website. UAlbany students interested in volunteering are asked to email [email protected].

For more news, subscribe to UAlbany's RSS headline feeds