History

1979

Survival Technological Company donates the “survival cart” to Georgetown’s Emergency Department.

Spring 1982

Bob Doherty submits a budget to Dr. Rolnick, head of the Emergency Department. The proposal includes $8,000-$10,000 for supplies and $70,000-$80,000 for a new ambulance.

December 1982

34 members of GERMS pass their District Emergency Medical Technician test.

April 1983

A student falls through glass on campus, severing an artery. The attending physician reported that “It’s difficult to tell what would have happened if GERMS were not there, but there is a good possibility (the student) would have died or at least suffered severe shock.”

March 1984

All calls on campus will go to GERMS.

March 1985

GERMS assists DC Fire and EMS firefighters with first-aid stations during a 4-alarm townhouse blaze. GERMS transports two firefighters suffering from smoke inhalation.

April 1987

John “Jack” DeGioia, then Dean of Student Affairs, names GERMS Outstanding Student Activity for 1986-1987. DeGioia would go on to become the 45th President of Georgetown University.

September 1990

Dennis Kanach becomes the new GERMS advisor and Village C West becomes the new home of the GERMS office.

October 1993

Villanova University Emergency Medical Service (VEMS) travels to Georgetown to discuss the formation of “a national association” of collegiate Emergency Medical Services which later became known as the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation (NCEMSF).

April 1994

GERMS hosts the first ever National Collegiate EMS Foundation (NCEMSF) Conference in Washington, DC. This conference became an annual tradition which still takes place today, and it serves as a hub for EMS education, skill building, and networking.

September 11th, 2001

GERMS sends an ambulance and two EMTs as mutual aid to DC Fire and EMS following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Pentagon. The GERMS crew covered Engine 29 on MacArthur Blvd. Additionally, GERMS sent 10 EMTs to assist at the Georgetown University Hospital.

September 2005

GERMS provides more than 240 hours of standby coverage at the Armory for evacuees from Hurricane Katrina.

January 2009

GERMS sends 45 EMTs to provide standby coverage for the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama.

February 2019

GERMS’ Medical Director, J.V. Nable, MD, receives the “EMS Advisor of the Year” award for his significant contributions to the success of GERMS through his mentorship, time, and energy.

March 2020

Georgetown University announces its transition to virtual learning during the 2019-2020 COVID-19 outbreak caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. GERMS went out of service.

August 21, 2021

Unit 11 arrives on campus and goes into service. Its first couple of calls include a behavioral emergency and a helipad transport.

January 2022

GERMS EMT Class for Georgetown Undergraduates and surrounding Georgetown area community members resumes for the Spring Semester. Over 25 students successfully received their NREMT certifications!

March 2022

HOYA STORM
Engaged a wide range of Georgetown University departments and administrative units, local emergency response partners, and student, faculty and staff volunteers. While the University is always assessing and preparing for emergencies on our campuses, we periodically conduct exercises such as Hoya Storm to test our emergency preparedness and response procedures. 

February 1981

Bob Doherty (COL ’83, M ’87) meets with Hap Arnold of the Emergency Department. They plan to use crews consisting of one EMT-B and one First Responder. The survival cart is to be used for transporting if possible.

September 1982

GERMS receives a charter from Student Activities Commission, establishing GERMS within the Georgetown community.

Spring 1983

GERMS obtains its first ambulance, a converted hearse.

August 1983

GERMS is officially dispatched for its first call – Chief Complaint: chest discomfort and pain radiating down the left arm.

January 25th, 1985

GERMS dedicates a new ambulance, Unit 3. The ambulance is a converted van donated by Robert Doherty’s high school ambulance service, Explorer Post 53.

December 1986

Georgetown University purchases Unit 4 for GERMS.

April 1990

Jack DeGioia becomes an Honorary Member of GERMS.

February 1992

Unit 5, a 1991 Ford Ambulance, goes into service.

January 1994

The Director of the District of Columbia Department of Health requests GERMS to staff a standby at the World Cup Soccer Tournament.

January 2001

GERMS sends 1 ambulance and 40 EMTs to provide standby coverage for George W. Bush’s Presidential Inauguration.

August 2004

GERMS Academy, a weekend reorientation at the beginning of the school year, is held for the first time. GERMS holds three Mass Casualty Incident drills to train members in the Rapid Response plan.

February 2007

GERMS is awarded the NCEMSF Striving for Excellence in Campus EMS Award, an award created to “recognize quality campus EMS organizations and hold them out as examples to other campus EMS organizations that are newly starting or are still developing their programs.”

February 2015

Through GERMS, Georgetown University is recognized as a HEARTSafe Campus for the promotion and support of rapid response by CPR and AED trained first responders, rapid public access to defibrillation, early access to advanced care, public CPR and AED training for the community, and engagement in preventative cardiovascular healthcare activities.

February 2020

Joseph Maccarone (NHS ’21), Jack Ryan (COL ’20), Nicole Chen (NHS ’20), and Zachary Culbertson (SFS ’21) are recognized by DC Fire and EMS with Cardiac Arrest Save Coins for their role in the successful resuscitation of a Georgetown football coach in September of 2019. Through GERMS, Georgetown University is recognized as a HEARTSafe Campus for the promotion and support of rapid response by CPR and AED trained first responders, rapid public access to defibrillation, early access to advanced care, public CPR and AED training for the community, and engagement in preventative cardiovascular healthcare activities.

June 21, 2021

GERMS goes back in service following a 1 year and 3 month hiatus due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, operating on weekend nights throughout the fall semester. Meredith Shamamian (NHS ‘21),  Isabella Turilli (SFS ‘22), Ceylan Metin (COL ‘22), Julia Foley (COL ‘22), and Grace Murray (NHS ‘22) were key leaders in the return.

January 20, 2022

GERMS is back in service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

February 2022

2022 National Collegiate EMS Foundation (NCEMSF) Conference (Pittsburgh, PA). Through GERMS, Georgetown University is recognized as a HeartSafe Campus. In addition, GERMS members formed a team that participated in the Stryker ALS skills competition.

May 2022

GERMS provides medical care and transport to over 40 patients in 4 days for the two Graduation weekends (2022 and 2020). 2 transporting crews and 1 standby crew was present 24/7 for the two weekends. This was treated as with Incident Command. U11 was also blessed during Convocation weekend.