CUEMS strives to be a community for students who are currently certified and employed as EMTs or interested in, emergency medical services. We aim to be a professional EMS agency at which students and EMT’s can gain experience and knowledge in medicine, develop leadership skills, and give back to the community through high quality emergency medical services and education on emergency preparedness.
Our primary mission is to serve our campus community by providing volunteer non-transport Basic Life Support (BLS) level emergency medical services to CU Boulder and surrounding communities. As of 2023, our certified members have provided volunteer emergency medical standby services at a multitude of events on and off campus, including the Boulder Bicycle Classic, the IFC Homecoming event, CU basketball games and much more!
In addition to medical services, one of our top priorities is to give back to our community by providing the medical education to feel confident in responding to emergencies such as cardiac arrest, where immediate high-quality CPR is essential in increasing risk of survival. We staff and instruct American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS) Classes to provide certifications. By teaching as many CU students and staff as possible, we hope to cultivate an environment of greater preparedness for medical emergencies. We also hope to broaden our horizons in terms of the education we offer to include free Stop the Bleed classes and opioid overdose recognition and naloxone distribution.
Our members benefit from a community of students who have similar experiences, and receive a wide range of unique opportunities! CUEMS hosts biweekly Continuing Education meetings including lectures from physicians, practice scenarios, and hands-on training. Members have access to exclusive shadowing and research opportunities, cadaver labs, volunteer opportunities, and can attend conferences to learn from experts in the field of emergency medicine.
CUMES is proud to be a constituent organization of the National Collegiate EMS Foundation (NCEMSF), an umbrella organization of over 250 constituent member colleges and universities in providing campus-based emergency medical services. You can learn more about NCEMSF here
Our History
Student Emergency Medical Service (SEMS) was formed in 2004 in response to a death of a local fraternity pledge member. He passed away due to excessive alcohol consumption prompted by peer pressure. The vision of SEMS was simple – educate peers on alcohol related emergencies and prevent student deaths.
SEMS was officially created when J.T. Young, a CU faculty member and emergency room physician, agreed to join the cause by acting as the faculty advisor and medical director for the group. This allowed the group of volunteer EMTs to provide medical care at events with the purpose of preventing deaths from binge drinking through treating various medical and alcohol related emergencies.
In March 2013, SEMS Boulder reached a point of expansion and decided to form two different groups. Maintaining the same acronym, Students for Education, Medicine, and Service focuses on community education. University of Colorado Emergency Medical Services (CUEMS) was born and carried the legacy of quality emergency care for the CU community.
Click here to see an article written by the Daily Camera about our history and services.