Based on the service provided since the 1970s, URI EMS is a quasi-independent volunteer nonprofit organization composed of approximately 100 students, faculty/staff, and community members from across the state and beyond at any given time. URI EMS receives funding from and operates as a University of Rhode Island service.
We service the Kingston and Narragansett Bay Campuses for emergencies and, upon request, provide limited service to the Providence and W. Alton Jones campuses. Due to their distance, these campuses are serviced by their local municipal EMS departments for emergencies.
As of Academic Year 2006-2007 (June 2006- May 2007), we responded to over 950 requests for medical assistance and approximately 250 special events details. See Medical Records for more statistics.
URI EMS is one of a handful of non-municipal (town or city-based) EMS agencies in the state that respond to “9-1-1 emergencies.” Primary EMS response services are the sole responsibility of URI EMS, though an extensive two-way mutual aid system connects it with other Town/City services as needed.
We currently operate one transporting rescue 24/7/365. We are a non-profit organization with an all-volunteer response capacity. We are one of the last “true” volunteer services and staff a minimum of two people on an ambulance at the station, ready to respond at all times without any monetary or other compensatory incentive. By having staff standby at Headquarters, our response times are among the best for volunteer departments and one of the quickest in the state (approximately 2-3 minutes from the time of dispatch to arrival on the scene of the emergency). Our personnel saves the University well over $500,000 each year while donating medical services equivalent to well over $300,000.
URI EMS provides emergency response and transport services free of charge to university students. We also offer emergency readiness assessments to help the community prepare for medical emergencies.
Our staff is dedicated to providing the highest quality of prehospital emergency medicine in the most effective manner possible. We train continually on the latest methods and practices using modern delivery techniques to ensure quality services.
In addition, we have high standards in quality assurance. Reports are reviewed regularly by senior staff and our Medical Director. All supervisors meet regularly to discuss concerns and to resolve important issues as they arise.
Headquarters
Opened in September of 2006 on our 21st anniversary, our Headquarters provided the first real home for EMS at URI.
Before this, we had occupied a section of the basement in a converted dormitory and an old building (see pictures below). Our new headquarters has separate male and female bunkrooms, showers, a garage apparatus bay, office space, day room, kitchen/dining area, and a full classroom.
Our building is located in the northwest corner of the Kingston campus at the intersection of Plains Rd./Flagg Rd. (565 Plains Rd.).