Believe it or not, this question has come up several times this week and we went seeking an answer. Many thanks to Anne Hudgens, Executive Director, CSU Health Network, for providing the following guidance!
Hi all,
This is a tricky situation but I think the very best plan is to call 911. That puts in place the police and paramedics coming to assess the situation. That is their job. A student doesn’t pay for the ambulance or paramedics coming out—but they do pay if they are transported to the hospital. A decision is made on site about whether or not it is medically necessary or prudent to transport to the hospital. A student would also have the opportunity to refuse the transport even if it was recommended by the paramedics. We have paramedics show up on campus on a very regular basis and very frequently leave with an empty ambulance. They really do not want to take students to the hospital unless they think it is medically necessary or prudent.
What we prefer is that we don’t have faculty or staff making decisions about whether or not something is medically necessary. If a faculty member made a judgment call not to call for assistance and it turned out to be more serious that could put the faculty member in a “negligent” role. There is no harm done to ask for a medical evaluation. That way it is a paramedic call and/or the individual student decision that no further medical attention is warranted. We let the people that are trained to do a medical evaluation do their job. It protects everyone.
This protocol is what we teach residential staff to do. Call for the medical evaluation. If it is a simple faint, the paramedics and student will determine that the ambulance ride is not necessary. Students are then referred to the health center or given the opportunity to get a less expensive ride to the hospital. We do not have CSU employees give the rides though.
Thanks Anne