The Georgetown Emergency Response Medical Service, or GERMS as it is also known, is a student-run, all-volunteer ambulance service, serving Georgetown University and the local community, including the main campus and the neighborhoods of West Georgetown, Burleith, and Foxhall, since 1982. GERMS provides year round, 24/7 medical services, rapid response, treatment, and transport to hospitals in the Washington, D.C. area. GERMS ambulances are equipped to offer basic life support services, including early defibrillation via automated external defibrillators, with advanced life support assistance available from Washington, D.C. Fire and EMS (DCFD).

Founding And Early History

In 1979, the Georgetown University Department of Emergency Medicine was presented with a converted E-Z-GO electric golf cart to serve as an EMS vehicle. This survival cart was operated under the supervision of Robert W. “Hap“ Arnold of the Emergency Medical Education Program and was used by medical students to staff athletic activities. Building upon this, GERMS was founded in 1982 by Mr. Arnold, Robert Doherty (College '83, Medical '87), and a group of enthusiastic students.

Doherty's interest in starting GERMS stemmed from serving in a unique emergency service, Explorer Post 53 - Emergency Medical Services, in his high school in Darien, Connecticut. At Georgetown, Doherty saw a great need for faster emergency medical response on campus, especially so due to the convenience of having a medical center located on campus. Although the original proposal was submitted in November 1980, it was not until the fall of 1982 that he was able to get the necessary insurance to start GERMS.

Originally, the proposal was for a basic system of operation consisting of two person duty crews carrying radio pagers to be dispatched by GUPS (Georgetown University Protective Services) to the scene of any medical emergency on campus. The crew members would stabilize the patient and determine the appropriateness and feasibility of transport in the survival cart. Each duty crew would have one EMT and one person with a minimum of Advanced First Aid and Basic Life Support certification. In 1982 the Nursing School debated and rejected the idea of establishing an EMT certification course for undergraduate credit as it did not fit into the nursing curriculum. The medical school and hospital, however, both agreed to assist GERMS members in teaching the course, although they would not be able to offer undergraduate credit. Since then, hundreds of Georgetown students and members of the community have been trained and certified as EMTs through GERMS.

The spring of 1983 brought GERMS a second-hand ambulance (ironically, this vehicle first served as hearse, before being converted to EMS use). Beginning 1983-09-01, with a membership of 60 certified EMTs, GERMS began providing 24 hour service to the Georgetown University Main Campus community.

GERMS Today

All GERMS are certified District of Columbia EMT-B's and most members are also nationally certified. Two ambulances transport patients to Georgetown University Medical Center conveniently located on the University's main campus.

GERMS is run entirely by undergraduate students of Georgetown University. GERMS operations are governed by the executives and the board of directors, while personnel matters are handled by the crew chief council. GERMS operates under the Department of Public Safety. Medical direction is provided by the Georgetown University Medical Center's Emergency Department.

Currently, GERMS possesses two ambulances, the newest of which was acquired in 2005, one support vehicle, and enjoys a membership of over one-hundred DC certified EMT-B's, the large majority of whom are undergraduates. A crew of three is on duty at all times, available by two-way radios and dispatched by DoPS (Department of Public Safety). In addition to serving the Georgetown University Main Campus Community, GERMS members also participate in stand-by medical coverage for events at RFK Stadium and the Mall - such as concerts, athletic events, and the 2001 and 2005 Inaugurations of President Bush - at the request of the DC Office of Emergency Health and Medical Services and DC Fire/EMS.

Notable Moments in GERMS History

• September 11, 2001 GERMS was on standby to serve the greater District of Columbia as DC Fire and EMS was being diverted to respond to the Pentagon attacks.
• January 2004: GERMS staffed numerous units at the Presidential Inauguration
• September 2005 GERMS manned the First Aid Post for Hurricane Katrina survivors who were temporarily housed at the D.C. Armory.
• October 2008: GERMS treated over 80 students in the course of 24 hours after an outbreak of Norovirus.

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