11/19/09 - MERT Featured in 34th Street
MERT was recently featured in the campus publication 34th Street. Take a look at life on shift and what impact MERT has made on the university by reading the article here.
11/9/09-11/15/09 - National Collegiate EMS WeekMERT celebrates NCEMSF EMS Week by publicizing what we do for the community. Stop by our table on Locust Walk all week for free give-aways and blood pressure screenings, take one of our two CPR certification classes on Tuesday and Thursday, learn the basics of CPR in five minutes on Monday, and watch a live EMS scenario demonstration on Friday. Contact spd.upennmert@gmail.com for more information.
11/9/09 - National Collegiate CPR Awareness DayMERT will be teaching CPR awareness to students and faculty all over campus on Monday. Stop by for five minutes at six campus locations and learn the basics of saving a life. Be sure to also sign up for our Tuesday 11/10 and Thursday 11/12 American Heart Association CPR certification classes. Contactexternal.upennmert@gmail.com for more details.
11/6/09 - MERT Holds Blood Drive at Kings Court English HouseStop by Kings Court (2nd floor lounge, 3465 Sansom St) from 10-4 to donate blood. Sign up on penn.givesblood.org!
9/25/09 - MERT Officers Attend Regional Collegiate EMS WorkshopToday, members of MERT's executive board joined University officials, Penn Police officers, Philadelphia city officials, Philadelphia Fire Department Chief Officers, and members of neighboring collegiate EMS squads including University of Delaware, Temple University, and the still-in-development Drexel University for a regional collegiate EMS workshop. The meeting started with an introduction from Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush, followed by a presentation by each collegiate EMS group about its history and its present accomplishments, and ended with round-table discussions about issues affecting collegiate EMS, such as AED placement, disaster response, and CPR training. The workshop was a great success, providing MERT with contacts, resources, and great new ideas we hope to utilize often in the coming months and years.
9/8/09 - MERT Provides EMS for New Student OrientationMERT helped welcome new freshman and transfer students to campus with an increased presence from Sep. 2nd - Sept 8th. During this time, MERT crews responded to over 30 medical emergency calls, ensuring that new students on campus remained safe and healthy. Welcome to Penn!
3/30/09 - MERT Receives Clandestine Drug Lab Awareness TrainingToday at the weekly training meeting, MERT members received training in Drug Lab Awareness by Tony Rich, Emergency Preparedness Manager at CHOP. Through a very informative and entertaining lecture, members learned how to recognize meth labs and patients with meth-related symptoms, and how to avoid the associated dangers.
3/29/2009 - MERT Participates in Community Health FairRepresentatives from MERT attended the Community Health Fair today, hosted at Christ Community Church. MERT provided members of the wider West Philadelphia community with free blood pressure screenings, bike safety information, CPR and AED demonstrations, and information about MERT's CPR and EMS classes.
3/29/2009 - MERT Offers CPR Classes for Campus and Philadelphia CommunityDo you need to know CPR for babysitting, lifeguarding, or a health profession? Is your CPR certification expired? Do you want the opportunity to save a life? MERT is now offering CPR classes for laypeople ($35) and health professionals ($55) in the general Penn campus and West Philadelphia community. Contact external.upennmert@gmail.com for more information about class times and to sign up.
3/27/09 - MERT Participates in Relay for LifeMERT tonight participated in Relay for Life, an annual fundraiser for the American Cancer Society held at Franklin Field. From 7pm on Friday until 4am the next morning (when the event was canceled prematurely due to rain), the members of the MERT Relay Team walked the track to raise money for cancer research, while a MERT crew volunteered as standby medical response. As a group, MERT was the 3rd largest fundraiser, with $5849.50 overall. In addition, Emily Seigel, a MERT senior and captain of the team, was the largest individual fundraiser at the event, raising $4864.00.
2/28/09 - MERT Receives Three Awards at the NCEMSF ConferenceTonight at the NCEMSF conference in Washington, DC, MERT and its members won three awards, a record for the conference, and an especial achievement at a conference with 88 universities and 806 delegates in attendance. MERT's website, created by webmaster Jenny Liang, won the award for for Web Site of the Year. Kevin Smith, MERT Operations Captain and Disaster Response Team Coordinator, won the award for Campus EMS Provider of the Year for his service to MERT and the general Penn community. Lieutenant John Washington of DPS, MERT's advisor, won the George J. Koenig, Jr. Service Award for his service to MERT, Penn, and the NCEMSF over the past several years. In addition, MERT still holds the Striving for Excellence award from 2007, a three-year award. MERT congratulates its members and advisor for their outstanding achievements.
2/19/09 - MERT's New Webmaster Improves PennMERT.orgJennifer Liang, in her new position as Webmaster, has made vast improvements to PennMERT.org. In addition to greatly improving its layout and general aesthetics, Jenny added several new features to the site, including Photos, History, Campus Health Resources, and separate sections for the Disaster Response Team and the Special Projects Division. Browse around the site and let us know what you think! All comments about the website and ideas for improvement can be directed to Jaime Fineman at Administration.UPennMERT@gmail.com.
2/16/09 - MERT Assists University in Meningitis ScareThis past weekend, three Penn students were hospitalized with meningococcal infection. Due to the circumstances of their exposure, all members of the Penn Greek community that had been to a fraternity or sorority event in the past two weeks were advised to seek prophylactic treatment. Penn MERT showed up in full force to support Student Health Services in the administration of prophylactic antibiotics to over 3000 students. Twenty-one MERT members assisted at clinics on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, earning much accolade from University and SHS administrators.
2/9/09 and 2/16/09 - MERT Trained in Hazardous Materials AwarenessFor the past two Mondays, the entire MERT membership received CME training in Hazardous Materials Awareness from Lieutenant John Washington and Fire Safety Officers Charles Singer and Steve Roth from the UPenn Department of Public Safety. Since the University of Pennsylvania has numerous labs and hospitals that use dangerous, radioactive, flammable, and poisonous materials, MERT's training will be beneficial in the event of a hazardous materials emergency.
2/4/09 - DRT Trained in WMD Radiological/Nuclear AwarenessMERT's Disaster Response Team was trained alongside Penn Police and other law enforcement officers in Weapons of Mass Destruction Radiological and Nuclear Awareness tonight by the Philadelphia Police Department Homeland Security Unit. DRT will use this training in combination with its existing Basic Disaster Life Support Training to prepare for the possibility of a WMD-related mass casualty incident.