Emergency - Call Amherst College Police

(413) 542-2111

Minor Illness and Injury

  • Amherst College Dispatch Center will request the response of a Police Officer* and/or depending on the time of year, a member of the Amherst College Emergency Medical Services, ACEMS**.

Illness or Injury Requiring an Ambulance

  • Depending on the information provided, the Amherst College Dispatch Center will simultaneously contact an Ambulance, a police officer and/or a member of ACEMS for any of the following patients:

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    • Unconscious or unresponsive
    • Trouble breathing or is breathing in a strange way
    • Chest pain or pressure
    • Bleeding severely
    • Having or has had a seizure
    • Severe headache, slurred speech, tingling fingers, and/or dizziness
    • Ingested poison or suspected poison
    • Injuries to the head, neck or back
    • Injuries involving suspected broken bones, sprains or dislocations
    • Electrical shock

  • Stay on the phone until the dispatcher hangs up, as you will be asked the following:

    1. your location
    2. how were they injured or made ill
    3. how many people are ill or injured
    4. your name
    5. your address
    6. your phone number
    7. if someone is available to meet the police or ambulance

  • Stay with the patient until more qualified medical personnel arrive and take over.

*At a minimum, Amherst College Police Officers are trained to the level of First Responders, as required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They exceed the requirements of the state by completing the American Red Cross Emergency Response Course, which includes the ability to take blood pressures and other vital signs, as well as administer oxygen, which is carried in the police cruisers. Amherst College Police are also CPR and Defibrillator certified, and carry the LifePak CR Plus Defibrillators in all response cruisers.

**ACEMS is an Amherst College Student volunteer organization made up of both Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT's) and First Responders, who respond to medical emergencies on campus. ACEMS operates under the control of the Medial Director at the Keefe Health Services.

In addition to their respective medical training, both the Amherst College Police Department and members of ACEMS are Incident Command System (ICS) / National Incident Management System (NIMS) trained.

April 2021