Fund vital operations for Temple EMS
Temple’s EMS team should be a higher priority both for administration and students.
by Editorial Board 29 March 2016
Last week, two bikes owned by Temple’s Emergency Medical Services were stolen from on-duty crew members. Because of this, one of Temple’s EMS teams will not be operating.
The bikes, called “miniature ambulances” by Temple EMS in a Facebook post, are extremely valuable, as is the service provided by the workers.
The service the bikes and the crew members operating them can provide is vital to the well-being of the university’s students and community members, especially in a heavily trafficked city where actual ambulances struggle to maneuver during busy times of the day.
The EMS team should receive more support in the form of funding and resources to ensure these things don’t happen. The fault for losing these bikes falls squarely on the thieves, but the university should also have a pre-existing contingency plan in the event a bike goes in for service or, like in this case, is stolen.
It may be expensive for the department to maintain and own extra bikes, but not doing so puts residents and students’ well-being in jeopardy, and may be the difference between life and death.
While sponsored by Temple Police, the department’s employees are all working on a volunteer basis.
We hope that students will remember the life-saving service Temple EMS provides next time they see an opportunity to contribute.