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About UMEMS

The original concept for a volunteer medical team based at the University of Minnesota came in 1978 as an idea of Wally Caryl, former Director of the Department of Emergency Management, and William Patrek, the Department's first Training Coordinator. At the time there was no other University stationed EMS services in the country, which makes this achievement very significant. From this idea the University of Minnesota Emergency Medical Services (UMEMS) was born.

The UMEMS' primary goal is to provide disaster relief to the University of Minnesota by assisting University authorities with triage and/or treatment of injured persons at such a disaster. In the event of such an emergency, members would be contacted by the Department of Emergency Management and asked to respond.

Secondary to this, UMEMS provides first aid care to patron's, employees, and athletes at University sponsored events. First aid rooms are currently located in Northrop Auditorium, Williams Arena, Sports Pavilion, Mariucci Arena, and Ridder Arena.

UMEMS operates the University's Basic Life Support ground ambulance. This vehicle is licensed by the State of Minnesota to provide BLS transportation on a scheduled basis. All life-threatening calls are referred to the local EMS via 911 or University Police.

UMEMS wants to keep it's members well-informed and knowledgeable, so we provide free monthly in-services to members including CPR, Defibrillation training, BBP, HazMat and refresher courses. We also provide incentives for hard work and try hard to create an environment where all members can enjoy themselves and help others at the same time.

Our First Ambulance - 1980s

If you are interested in joining UMEMS and:
~ Are a certified FR/EMT, download our team Application from the Files page
~ Are not a certified FR/EMT, please look at our Common Questions & Answers

To find out more about UMEMS, please Email us or visit the first aid room at one of our events. Check out the Venues page for a list of our first aid room locations.