Purpose
Welcome! Thank you for your interest in the Trinity College Emergency
Response Team, known as TCERT. The purpose of TCERT is to provide up-to-date Emergency
Medical Service (EMS) to the Trinity College community 24 hours a day, 7days a week during
the academic year. In conjunction with the country's first all-APRN certified
collegiate Health Center and the resources of Hartford Hospital two blocks South of
campus, the Trinity community has access to some of the finest health care resources in
the country.
History
Work on developing TCERT began in1994 by Matt Birmingham '98 and Jeremy
Hough '98. In the spring of 1995 meetings were held with the Dean of Students office and
the Director of Campus Safety to discuss the formation of TCERT. During the spring
of 1995 a constitution for TCERT was drafted and approved by the Student Government
Association. In the fall of 1995 meetings continued with these offices and TCERT was
endorsed by Campus
Safety and the Office of the
Dean of Students. The original Constitution was submitted to
the Student Government Association for approval as a student organization in April of
1995. The original SOPs were created using the Tufts
Emergency Medical Services as a model and modified to apply to the Trinity College
community. TCERT officially went into service at 08:00 hrs on Friday, October 20,
1995!
In 1997 TCERT was recognized by the Connecticut Department of Public Health and the Office of Emergency Medical Services as a licensed Emergency Medical First Responder.
During the summer of 1999, current Director David Miller and Assistant Director Scott Raymond performed a full review and amendment of the SOPs to remove vague language, correct inconsistencies, etc. This review was completed in the fall of 1999 and approved by the Officers Council.
A second review of the SOPs occurred during the spring
of 2000, involving all present officers (Thomas Michalewski '02, Scott Raymond '00,
Carolyn Palomo '00, and Julie Plagenhoef '00). After a semester of planning and
growth, the standard operating procedures needed vast revision to include new equipment
and new school policies. The updated SOP Manual was sent to
Dr. Keating for final approval. In addition, our Constitution
was amended to reflect new standards within the organization, expanded autonomy of the
organization as a whole, and an increased level of communication between all members
Adding to the integrity of the organization, a compensation package was
proposed and approved by the administration. The proposed plan called for a
contractual bonus to be paid on a semester by semester basis to those individuals working
extended hours each week. Not only did the plan call for guaranteed reimbursement of
educational costs, but it included a variable rate of compensation dependent upon the
number of hours worked and the number of semesters of active membership. Approval of
this plan made TCERT one of the first collegiate EMS groups to be paid. .
Our Advisors
The first advisor for TCERT was Jack Feivou, the Events and Operations
Manager at Austin Arts Center. Along with his work at Trinity, Jack was also the Deputy
Fire Chief in Rocky Hill, CT, as well as an EMT in the State of Connecticut. Jack had an
extensive background in emergency services management, and was a great resource to have in
TCERT. In 1997 Jack left Trinity College to pursue work in Florida.
Our current advisor, Martha Burke, APRN, came to Trinity College in the summer of 1999 as the new Director of the Trinity College Health Center. After a brief period of familiarization, Ms. Burke agreed to serve as an administrative liaison and advisor for TCERT. In addition, Brian Killian maintained his position as our liaison with Campus Safety, ensuring open channels of communication between departments.
In the Fall of 1999, Dr. Keating, the Trinity College physician, became our medical advisor.
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