[This story was written in the spring 2023 semester, but was not published.] 

What can students expect when an on-campus medical emergency happens? According to Chief of University Police Scott Swayze, the response should be similar no matter if 911 or University Police are called to respond. 

When a medical emergency call is received, “we forward it immediately onto the 911 center,” Swayze said. 

There are two primary ambulance groups that respond to campus medical emergencies. The first is the Student Association Volunteer Ambulance Corporation (SAVAC). According to SAVAC’s page on LakerLife, SAVAC “serve[s] as the primary EMS provider of SUNY Oswego and are a certified NYS Department of Health Basic Life Support ambulance corp.” 

SAVAC’s services are free to the campus community, including “patient care provided by our volunteers, transportation to the hospital, and standbys for events like hockey games. We also provide mutual aid support to the city and town of Oswego, and collaborate with the Oswego City Fire Department, Oswego Town Volunteer Fire Department, and the Oswego County Ambulance Service (Menter Ambulance),” the LakerLife page reads. 

SAVAC also provides standbys for rugby games due to high risk of injury such as impact injuries, as SUNY Oswego student Kirstin Bratge described. 

“Rugby is a very high contact sport, and so we’re required to have medical personnel at our tournament, and are very lucky to have SAVAC available to step in for that role,” she said. “…Unfortunately there have also been higher risk injuries in the past. The SAVAC staff were more than capable of caring for the hurt rugby player while more experienced staff were on their way.”

According to Swayze, when SAVAC is available and there is a medical emergency on campus, they will be dispatched to the scene along with the fire department. However, SAVAC is not available 24/7, according to Swayze. 

When SAVAC is unavailable, the Oswego County Ambulance Service, also known as Menter Ambulance Service, will be dispatched to the scene. Swayze added that they come to campus quite often. 

According to their website, menteramb.com, Menter Ambulance Service is “a private ambulance service whose main headquarters is in Fulton, NY.” 

The service “provides Advanced Life Support emergency ambulance transport, and non-emergent transportation.” 

Unlike SAVAC, the services provided by Menter Ambulance Service are not free. University Police has a “working and training relationship with SAVAC and Menter,” going on calls with them and training with their staff. Swayze said that they have a good relationship with both organizations. 

According to Swayze, there were 117 on-campus transports that University Police is aware of in 2022. 44 of these were general injuries, 28 were medical emergencies or sickness, 28 were intoxication and 17 were mental health related. 

Swayze said that the severity of the emergency “could affect how many ambulances are called to the scene.” He added that typically, University Police also sends an officer to assist with the situation.

“Safety is our number one goal,” Swayze said. He further added that the officers they send work to ensure that the scene and patient are secure. They may help divert traffic when incidents occur near roadways. He also described that officers have first aid training, such as CPR and how to use AED equipment. 

Swayze added that their response does not differ based on who the injured party is. “[The] level of care is still the same, no matter student, staff, faculty, administrator, whoever,” he said. 

When a medical emergency takes place, many cases are sent to Oswego’s community hospital, which is a part of Oswego Health. According to their website, Oswego Health is a “nonprofit healthcare system” which includes the hospital in Oswego and “premium healthcare services offered throughout the county, including two urgent care facilities in Fulton and Central Square, lab stations and medical imaging sites.” 

Kathryn Pagliaroli is the senior vice president of clinical operations and the chief nursing officer at Oswego’s community hospital. One of the departments which she oversees is the emergency department. 

Regardless of what someone’s transport is, whether via SAVAC or Menter Ambulance, they will be seen in the same emergency department, according to Pagliaroli. The emergency department at Oswego Hospital has 17 beds, as well as some beds on the hallways for overflow, Pagliaroli said. She added that the emergency department sees about 25,000 patients per year. They see many types of cases including medical and mental health related cases. 

Upon arrival, patients will be triaged by a trained nurse. This process involves the nurse evaluating the patient’s condition and then assigning them a triage score based on their case.

“[The emergency department is] run by severity of illness, not first come first serve,” Pagliaroli said. 

In regard to patients with financial concern, Pagliaroli said that they “work with every patient that comes in.” Oswego Health has a financial aid department which provides “multiple millions of dollars every year in financial aid for healthcare” via avenues such as reduced rates, payment plans, or free care. 

When students are treated at the hospital, when given permission, Oswego Health connects them with Mary Walker Health Center on campus as well as the Counseling Services Center, as needed to provide follow-up care, Pagliaroli said. Cases from SUNY Oswego are typically general immediate needs, such as “a cut that needs to be sewn up,” “bumps and bruises,” “respiratory symptoms,” or “mental health and wellness [cases.]” 

She added that Oswego Hospital works to remain aware of specific stressors and fear that students might face, such as being away from home during a stressful medical situation or having concerned friends accompany a student to the hospital. 

Not all patients will be seen at Oswego Hospital. “All of the EMS agencies work through different protocols,” Pagliaroli said. She described that Oswego Hospital can receive any patient, but the ones that are often sent to one of the Upstate Medical hospitals in Syracuse are patients experiencing a heart attack, presenting stroke symptoms or who have experienced a traumatic injury in some instances. She further described that trauma patients sometimes make a stop at Oswego’s hospital before continuing to Upstate.