The Georgetown Emergency Response Medical Service (commonly known as GERMS) is a student run, volunteer emergency ambulance service for Georgetown University and the surrounding community, including the main campus and the neighborhoods of West Georgetown, Burleith, and Foxhall. An ambulance crew of three EMT-Bs are on-duty 24 hours a day throughout the majority of the calendar year, including the summer. GERMS ambulances are equipped to offer basic life support services, including early defibrillation via AED, with advanced life support assistance available from DC Fire & EMS.
All GERMS are certified District of Columbia EMT-B's and most of our members are also nationally certified. Our two ambulances transport patients to Georgetown University Medical Center conveniently located on the University's main campus. Advanced Life Support (ALS) services are provided by DC Fire & EMS paramedic units.
GERMS is run entirely by undergraduate students of Georgetown University. GERMS operations are governed by the executives and the board of directors, while personnel matters are handled by the crew chief council. GERMS operates under Student Health, which provides our faculty advisor. Our medical direction is received from the Georgetown University Medical Center's Emergency Department.
Currently, GERMS possesses two ambulances, the newest of which was acquired in 2005, two support vehicles, and enjoys a membership of over one-hundred DC certified EMT-B's, the large majority of whom are undergraduates. A crew of three is on duty at all times, available by two-way radios and dispatched by DoPS (Department of Public Safety). In addition to serving the Georgetown University Main Campus Community, GERMS members also participate in stand-by medical coverage for events at RFK stadium and the Mall - such as the concerts, athletic events, and the 2001 and 2005 Inaugurations of President Bush - at the request of the DC Office of Emergency Health and Medical Services and DC Fire/EMS.
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