Crimson EMS trains Harvard students in CPR and other life-saving techniques
Terzah Hill ’20 remembers the kindness and professionalism of the first responders who helped her family when a lightning storm destroyed their home in 2010. It’s partly why she joined Crimson EMS, Harvard’s student-run emergency medical services organization, which provides emergency medical technician (EMT) training and assists with emergency care at many campus events. When Crimson EMS started seven years ago, it had only one fully certified EMT. In the years since it has boosted its ranks to 63. Crimson EMS trainees commit to 15 hours a week each semester. The course covers first aid, CPR, prehospital life support, emergency vehicle instruction, and hazmat training. Harvard University Health Services subsidizes the cost, and Pro EMS of Cambridge provides support, allowing students to train at its facilities and accompany its medics on ambulance calls. “Since taking and later helping to teach the class, I’ve learned so much about the human body, pathophysiology, and emergency medicine,”...