Last weekend, the brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) banded together to save the life of one of their own. The brothers were hiking at East Rock Park in New Haven, when one brother locked up and went into a seizure. The brothers immediately sprang into action. Two of the brothers, Patrick Richards, who is a trained EMT, started performing basic life support on the brother. Sigma Alpha Epsilon vice president, Kevin Goralski, tried to call 911 for help, but had trouble due to their location.
Goralski said, “I called 911 three or four times. There was no cell service there. I kept calling back. I had to come down off the mountain and go to the paved road, and I found out where we were and started talking to the dispatcher.” The New Haven firefighters finally arrived and were able to get the brother to the hospital for treatment. If it had not been for the quick thinking and training of the brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, the day may have ended quite differently. Alex LaMere, a brother of Sigma Alpha Epsilon said, “When something happens, especially when it’s someone you know, you don’t think, you just react.”
The University of New Haven offers an EMT class, which is always a useful skill to have, as evident by the brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Next semester, the class will be offered on Fridays from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., and it will be taught by Peter Struble. The course is designed to prepare the basic emergency medical technician. It covers medical and legal/ethical aspects, the role of the EMT, CPR, patient assessment, wound care, and medical and environmental emergencies among other topics.
The university also has an Emergency Medical Services club, which was established to promote awareness about the growing EMS community, through informational programs, certification classes, crisis management, and lectures. The brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon utilized their crisis management plan that was put together two weeks prior to the incident. Ironically enough, the crisis management plan was created by the same brother that had the medical emergency. Their brother is now back at school and well. The brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon demonstrated dignity, integrity, and true camaraderie among brothers. Good job guys!
