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Syracuse University Ambulance’s headquarters used to be a place where members could socialize or relax between classes. Now, the space is largely empty, with furniture removed and few people allowed in the building at once to accommodate social distancing.

But despite the altered environment, SUA continues to operate this semester, offering emergency medical transport to students for no out-of-pocket cost.

“SUA is a very social organization, which is great,” SUA manager Paul Smyth said. “But with the pandemic, you have to alter those practices slightly to keep everybody safe.”

SUA is a student-operated organization that allows students to gain voluntary medical transport experience. This semester, the organization has implemented safety procedures to protect SUA members and patients from the coronavirus. 

Student SUA members now have to sign in and out of the headquarters and record their temperature before entering. While students previously chose their shifts each week, they now follow a fixed schedule to help with the university’s contact tracing efforts.

Although some student members have chosen to study remotely this semester, SUA hasn’t seen students working fewer shifts, Smyth said. The organization is still in the process of recruiting members for the academic year, he said.

Leaders in SUA spent the summer developing contingency plans for fall semester. Not knowing whether students would return to campus made planning more challenging, Smyth said. 

SUA has also altered its protocol for responding to emergency calls. Dispatchers now screen patients for COVID-19 before the crew arrives, and a team member asks the patient the same screening questions upon arrival.

When an ambulance crew previously would arrive on the scene of an emergency, two or three members would approach the patient, and one would ask questions while the other checks for vital signs, Smyth said. 

“That really changed for everyone across the country and across the world,” he said. 

Elizabeth Billman | Senior Staff Photographer

Now, the crew chief or senior EMT asks patients questions from six feet away and includes questions related to COVID-19 in the interview process. If there’s any indication that a patient has COVID-19, the crew immediately puts on extra protective equipment, including a full gown and face shield, before approaching the patient.

The process of asking extra questions and putting on extra equipment only takes about a minute and doesn’t prevent the crew from reaching the patient in time, said Jake Anderson, an SUA field supervisor and a senior international relations and history major. 

Every SU ambulance has an exhaust fan that was rarely used before the pandemic, Smyth said. Now the fan is on anytime there’s a patient in the back of the ambulance to improve ventilation. 

The patient compartment of the ambulance is now sealed off from the driver’s compartment to limit unnecessary contact. Only the supervisor and senior EMT remain in the back with the patient, Anderson said. 

SUA worked with the university over the summer to stockpile personal protective equipment for members to use during the year, Smyth said. The university has purchased sanitation spray devices to clean the vehicles, and stretchers and other equipment are wiped-down and sanitized after helping each patient, he said.  

The organization has also replaced the beds in the headquarters for its overnight crew with wipeable mattresses and pillows that crew members can easily clean the next morning, Smyth said. Students previously used the overnight beds to take naps or relax between classes, but that has changed this year, Anderson said. 

Max Sulik, a member of SUA and a sophomore mechanical engineering major, said he joined SUA as a freshman because he wanted to be part of an organization with a strong sense of community.

“It’s not so much in-person as it was last year,” Sulik said. “(But) as much as it’s not in-person, as an organization, we’re still maintaining a very close-knit community.”

Another major difference for SUA this semester is the lack of events held in the Carrier Dome. Working at events in the Dome is usually a great way for new SUA members to learn the ropes, Smyth said.

SUA responded to about 1,500 emergency and standby requests last academic year, Smyth said. Standby events include events at the Dome, during which a full emergency medical service crew would attend, as well as smaller events that student organizations run and one ambulance might be present. 

“Our schedule is a little decreased this semester to say the least, (because) there’s not those social gatherings,” Smyth said. “But we’re doing what we can to keep our students and keep our members active with the organization, and we will persevere.” 

The number of emergency calls has also dropped with fewer people on campus, though not considerably, Smyth said.

Not having events or sports games to work standby shifts for feels strange, since those shifts typically occurred every weekend, Anderson said. The shifts were also a source of income for some students, he said. SUA is an entirely voluntary organization, but students can be paid for working standby shifts or for answering calls in the dispatch center.

A new part of Sulik’s job as a dispatcher is sending the university’s medical transport to bring students who test positive for COVID-19 to the Sheraton Hotel for quarantine. But he’s also responsible for calling the infected student to make sure they’re calm and comfortable.

“(We’re) that calm voice on the phone saying, ‘Ok, even though you’re going to quarantine, we’re here and this isn’t a bad thing,’” Sulik said. 

Anderson is proud of the way members have adjusted to changes and have continued to work together despite the challenges the pandemic poses. 

“Everyone has stepped up their game,” Anderson said. “(Students) had six months off and came back ready to help the campus community.”

Published on September 13, 2020 at 10:02 pm

Contact Sarah: scalessa@syr.edu | @sarahalessan