An inside look at BC EMS, not just the drunk police

“Dude I can’t believe James had to call BCEMS on Mary last night, she was a total disaster.”

Phrases similar to this one have been expressed by countless BC students every weekend.

Boston College EMS, formally Eagle EMS, is looking to change attitudes about how students view primary care givers and why the number one thing they are concerned with is your safety, not getting you into trouble.

“We used to be seen as the drunk police on campus, but we have been working hard to show the community that responding to alcohol calls is only a small piece of what we do,” said senior Kevin Zirko, a supervisor and president of BCEMS.

“Alcohol only makes up about 40 percent of our call volume, and it’s on a downward trend. When I was a freshman, alcohol was probably about 80 percent [of our call volume].”

BCEMS is a student-run organization that has served Boston College since 1997 and is made up solely of volunteers, with this year’s group consisting of 82 students.

Since 2012, BCEMS has had a non-transporting ambulance for the purpose of responding to any and all campus emergencies. Most certified EMTs are sophomores and juniors, but ten freshmen were brought on board this year.

BCEMS says that while alcohol does make up about 40 percent of their calls, 30 percent of their calls are trauma-related, a close second.

Although alcohol related calls remain the most common ones that EMTs respond to, BCEMS makes safety and students’ best interests their main priorities.

Kevin said: “We only transport students to the hospital if we really have to.

“Our first response is always to make sure that both the intoxicated student, as well as those around him or her are safe and feel peace of mind once we leave.”

Kevin said the experiences of treating friends or peers in a medical situation “can definitely be stressful at times, but are also extremely rewarding.”

“We could very likely be responding to friends, but it makes the experience better for both our patients as well as for us” added senior Julie Kurek, a PR coordinator and crew chief member of BCEMS.

When asked about their craziest call, Kevin had one event that immediately stuck out in his mind.

He said: “Our team responded to a cardiac arrest at the Halloween football game this year, and because I wasn’t a primary care giver on duty, I got to watch my team work together with Armstrong Ambulance to help save this person’s life.”

BCEMS has been fighting for increased responsibility in the community, and Kevin was pleased with his team’s effort.

He added; “It was a proud moment for me.

“Our team stepped up and just a few days ago, I received a call from the hospital saying that the man had been discharged with a full recovery. That’s pretty exciting.”

BCEMS also caters to local members outside of the BC community, offering courses in medical training and providing medical supplies to those that can’t afford them.

The organization also has a community education coordinator responsible for leading trips to local elementary schools to teach first aid as well as leading trips to visit the homeless (working with Friends of Boston’s Homeless) to provide them with first aid kits.

“We’ve been able to give 300 first aid kits to the homeless in our community” Kevin said.

BCEMS is a tight-knit group, full of a wide range of majors from Pre-med to Math to English, and its members appear to be excited to sacrifice personal time, even on weekends, to help members of their community and keep as many safe as possible.

So don’t get nervous when you see BCEMS coming and don’t view them as the “drunk police.” They are confident, bright peers of ours that just want to help us.

A great example of their selflessness was evident in the first blizzard of last semester, as highlighted best by Kevin Zirko: “Within an hour, more than 60 people were willing to help out.”