Page 12 THE BATTALION
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1980
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1980 ^
CS opposes hot rod A&M ambulance
p(
from page 1
voiced at that time, he said.
At a second meeting, Goswick
said. College Station Fire Chief
Douglas Landua came and “re-
questwd that the campus ambulance
not be used for emergency calls in
the city of College Station.
Goswick said he was surprised at
the request, but agreed to honor it
because he felt that service to on-
campus students might be jeopar
dized otherwise.
“They could make it difficult for
us,” Goswick said, “Who knows but
what they might have said we
couldn’t run into their city at all?”
Goswick said he was afraid city
officials would try to prevent the uni
versity ambulance from even run
ning through College Station to get
to Bryan hospitals. The main campus
of Texas A&M is surrounded by Col
lege Station.
At present, the university ambu
lance can travel through the city to
reach calls out of the city limits or to
go to Bryan hospitals.
Goswick and Borron said Chief
Landua told them the reason for the
request was because the university
ambulance would be taking away 20
percent of College Station’s ambu
lance runs by answering on-campus
calls, and if allowed to service off-
campus students, another 20 per
cent of their calls would go to the
university ambulance.
Borron said they wejre told that
USED
this would lead to a drop in revenue,
causing them to have less justifica
tion to the city for more funds to
improve services as well as a drop in
morale of the firefighter/EMT’s be
cause of the decreased number of
calls.
Landua and several other city offi
cials have insisted that money
doesn’t concern them, citing that the
College Station ambulance service
operates at a deficit.
When asked about the 20 percent
figures, Landua said, “That might
have been a rough estimate.”
He said the on-campus calls for
1979 actually made up 12 percent of
the city’s total calls, and he had “no
idea” how many calls were made to
off-campus students.
Landua said no record is made of
whether patients transported from
the city are students or not.
Borron said he was upset that the
figures presented to them were not
based on real percentages since
much of the university’s decision to
honor the fire department’s request
was because they did not want to
GOLD
WANTED!
Cash Paid.
diamond brokers international, inc.
693-1647
LSAT• MCAT• GRE
GRE PSYCH • GRE BIO
GMAT • DAT • OCAT • PCAT
VAT • MAT • SAT
NAT L MED BDS
ECFMG • FLEX • VQE
NDB • NPB I • NLE
KAPLAN
EDUCATIONAL CENTER
Test Preparation Specialists
Since 1938
SATURDAYCLASSES
LESSON #1
MAKE-UP LECTURE
TONIGHT
CALL FOR DETAILS
696-3196
(Wedn. classes start Feb. 6)
(In Dallas 11617 N. Cent. Expy.)
take away so much of the fire depart
ment’s revenue.
Bill Schaer, ambulance coordina
tor for the College Station Fire De
partment, said the agreement con
sists of these provisions:
y tne University health center is
to notify the College Station Fire
Department by letter when the uni
versity ambulance is ready to go into
full-service operation; then,
7 all campus calls (emergency
and non-emergency) will be referred
to the health center; the fire depart
ment will continue to answer all calls
until the letter has been received.
/ the University Health Center is
to notify the College Station Fire
Department of all off-campus
emergency calls in the city and is not
permitted to respond to these calls.
/ the university ambulance will
be permitted to run through the city
of College Station using lights and
siren to answer emergency calls in
Bryan, at other university property,
or at locations outside College Sta
tion city limits, provided the College
Station Fire Department is notified.
/ the university ambulance will
be permitted to make non
emergency (transfer) runs to stu
dents in College Station who need a
ride to the health center, doctor’s
office, or clinic.
y the university ambulance may
be used for emergency transfers
from the health center to Bryan hos
pitals.
y the university ambulance will
serve as a back-up emergency vehi
cle if all College Station ambulances
are in use; and the city ambulances
will back up the university if neces
sary.
■ •r 1 t
c-k.'-u - ,
Afraid you are
missing something?
- • v.V. v '-C ■' •' - * '
PW..P- V. -• - *
Join MSC Cepheid Variable
Wed. Feb. 6, 8 p.m.
308 Rudder Tower
Landua said he has received a let
ter from the health center notifying
the fire department that the univer
sity ambulance is in service and he
has notified the city manager of the
policy change.
Campus calls are now being re
layed to the university ambulance
service, Landua said.
But the agreement between the
University and the fire department
is not the only thing standing in the
way of the off-campus students being
served by the university ambulance.
A new ambulance ordinance pas
sed by the city council in December
abolished Texas A&Vl’s previous ex
emption from city regulation, leav
ing the university ambulance service
dependent on the city council for
permission to operate on the city
streets.
College Station City Councilman
James Dozier said the ordinance
“was not meant to discriminate
against students,” and said that it
was a coincidence that it was prop
osed and passed shortly after the uni
versity ambulance was purchased.
Chief Landua, who co-authored
the ordinance with Bill Schaer, said
it was just “bad timing” that the ordi
nance was passed when the universi
ty was ready to operate its ambu
lance.
The new ordinance increases the
training required for ambulance per
sonnel from Red Cross First Aid cer
tification to Emergency Medical
Technician (EMT) training.
EMTs are required to have 120
hours of medical training for certifi
cation; 80 hours of work (ambulance)
experience and 40 hours of hospital
work.
Ambulance coordinator Bill
Schaer said the university ambu
lance service would be eligible to
apply for a permit if they meet all
requirements of the ordinance and if
the city council approved the appli
cation.
Borron said the university ambu
lance meets all the specifications
“and more and they are looking into
the possibility of getting a permit to
operate as a full-service vehicle in
the city of College Station.
However the prospect of actually
being granted a permit does not look
good since several city councilmen
and the mayor are adamantly
opposed to allowing the university
ambulance to function for emergen
cy calls in the city limits.
Councilman Gary Halter said,
“We have no control over a volun
tary student organization, and we
don’t want them running an ambu
lance service.”
Halter later referred to the
TAMECT members as students who
were “running around trying to play
EMT, and like the campus sailing
club he sponsored, TAMECT was
bound to lapse into periodic inactiv
ity because “that’s what happens fo
all student organizations.”
Councilman Larry Ringer was also
opposed to the idea.
“We can’t have hot rodders run
ning around,” Ringer said.
Steve Borron, TAMECT squad
leader, said his organization was one
of dedicated individuals who were
interested and devoted to providing
quality care to all students.
Borron said the university ambu
lance service is able to meet all city
standards and would comply with all
speed limit and safety regulations re
quired by the ordinance.
TAMECT is a volunteer organiza
tion made up of more than 80 indi
viduals who are interested in
emergency medical care, Borron
said, and its members operate the
university ambulance.
Borron, who is a paramedic, said
many of the members of the team are
EMTs, many of whom have been
trained through the university, and
others have Emergency Care Atten
dant (EGA) training or first aid certi
fication.
TAMECT also has two paramedic
trainees and one EMT with IV skills,
Borron said.
“There’s always one EMT on
duty, and the other will be at least
EGA or first aid trained,” Borron
said.
“The most qualified person is al
ways in the hack (with the patient),”
Borron said.
Borron said that since its begin
ning in 1976, TAMECT has grown
steadily from about 15 members to
more than 80.
No problems with scheduling
ambulance crews have arisen, “even
during the first two weeks of school
when no one knew what their sche
dule was,” Borron said.
Bill Schaer, ambulance coordina
tor for College Station, said all of the
city’s firefighters are also EMTs and
some had been trained through the
university’s program.
Schaer said the fire department
had one EMT with IV skills, but no
paramedics.
Bryan ambulance coordinator,
David Turek, said their fire depart
ment looked at the university ambu
lance as “a substation of our depart
ment” and said he felt the university
had a good program.
College Station officials are con
cerned that “safety problems will
arise in cases where a city and the
university ambulance respond to the
same call.
College Station Fire Chief Landua
said his department radios calls to
Bryan if an emergency is called in to
the wrong city, but said relaying calls
to the university would cause too
much of a delay in emergency situa
tions.
Borron said the university ambu-
MSC OVERSEAS LOAN
FUND NOW AVAILABLE!
Applications from 216 MSC — Secretary’s Desk
Sign up Feb. 7-14
Interviews Feb. 9 & 10
Funds are available for TAMU France, Spain, Germany (May 28-June
9); Landscape Architecture, Environmental Design, European Stu
dies, and other overseas work, study, or travel experiences planned
by A&M students.
For More Info Call MSC Travel at 845-1515
l.S:A
7"
Ml 8
• # soccer* •
All students interested in becoming active
members of the I.S.A.’s newly formed
SOCCER-TEAM
TO PLAY IN B.V.A.S.L.
please contact Bryce
Simmang 846-9490
before February 5th
liiii
PAPERBACK
BOOK
SALE
Several hundred assorted titles
All only 500 each
SALE BEGINS WEDNESDAY, IAN. 30th
P
By!
lance is equipped with a “ptrj
patch system which allows them
communicate with anyone whoLj
telephone, including the vario«sh(
departments.
Landua also said the univeiJ
ambulance would not be able to®
streets and apartments as i
the city ambulances could I
the city had large maps of each fersurj
tion of the city and they could’ ulk t lot
directions to their drivers 00 Jr, sopl
way. , .3;®oad
Bryan Fire Department offisBing
solved this problem for the uni. jfsity.
ty ambulance service where M Patters
city is concerned — they gau t be
health center copies of their Was! six:
maps. 7;® ve[
College Station officials say dee for I
their concerns is that the unh : id the si
ambulance service might tr ulk t fi
answer students calls that woolJiB.
quire too long a response time, Tlu’ii;
Borron said this is not the at Bed 0
He said if they received a a! ante It
felt one of the other services difa P)
respond more quickly theywoulojhad 1
lay the call. At tht
“If we got a call out at theAr .pc, 5,1
on H ighway 21 — say if someone A
bleeding to death — we would"
hesitate to call Bryan
they’re 15 minutes closer,
said.
College Station FireChiefL
said one reason for his decisionm
allow the university ambulancel
vice to answer off-campus emeijl
cy calls was to cut down
response runs — having twod
vices answer the same call.
Borron said dual response*
not he a problem with rad»|
phone-patch communication 1
terns operating.
David Turek, Bryan ambi
coordinator, said, “The overall
pose of the service is to providi
best emergency medical service
sible, and if their ambulancecari/
there quicker than ours, thenf
patient is getting better senitt I
“If we respond to a call and*
that the university ambulamvl
already there, we ll just turnanuL
and go home — we re notha@|
over who picks up the patient,!
concerned with quality service
Turek later added that if any«
policy was used, then they wouUI
playing politics with someoned
life.”
ALTERATIONS 1
IN THE-GRAND TRADITION
fclDifdkXf wHEFft 4ao<rH
TAUGHT DAUGHTER THE FINE
ART OF SEWING — SO HELEN
MARIE TAUGHT EDITH MARIE
THE SECRETS OF SEWING AND
ALTERATIONS
&.
• DON'T GIVE UP — WE LL
MAKE IT FIT!"
AT WELCH ’S CLEANERS. WE Iff,I
ONLY SERVE AS AN EXCELLffl
DRY CLEANERS BUT WE SPlT
CIALIZE IN ALTERING HARDUl
FIT EVENING DRESSES, TAPES ■
SHIRTS, JEAN HEMS, WATC-,x, r fT
POCKETS. ETC ,
rs sh
(WE'RE JUST A FEW Itripl
BLOCKS NORTH OFFEOlups.
MART.) Ijn tl
WELCH’S CLEANERS
3819 E. 29th (TOWN & COUNTRY SHOPPING CENTER^
his fin;
I of
PROBLEM PREGNANCY?
Are you considering
abortion?
Free counseling and referrals
Call
(713) 779-2258
Texas Problem Pregnancy, Bryan, Tx.
Stow YOU VAX
DO IT FOR
Yes, to serve you better Kinko’s now has as
service copier. You can do it for only 9# (8:30 !|
Mon.-Thurs, ’til 6 Fri., 9-5 Sat.) or we’ll doi|
while you wait for 4-0 or overnight for SVafl
only at
KINKO’S COPIES
SOI College Main • 840-0508
See us for research supplies
ARE YOU INTERESTED
STUDYING ABROAD?
WORKING IN EUROPE FOR
THE SUMMER?
TRAVELING & GETTING TO
KNOW ANOTHER CULTURE?
The Study Abroad Office is sponsoring a seminar
on Study/Travel Abroad on Monday, February 4,
1980, 7:30 p.m., Room 206 MSC. Topics discus
sed will include: study abroad opportunities, stu
dent tours, international student cards, work per
mits, train passes, travel bargains, passport ap
plications, cheap hotels and youth hostel cards
etc.
: