Student and alumni volunteers engage community through Rescue Squad service

The New Paltz Rescue Squad (NPRS) has been providing advanced life support coverage to the Village and the Town of New Paltz since 1973. It has expanded from a small staff, single-ambulance unit to a 24-hour care provider, thanks in part to the contribution of dozens of SUNY New Paltz student volunteers, who freely offer their time in hopes of serving the community and accruing valuable training and experience.

Jason Conway, chief of operations at the NPRS, said he currently has about 25 volunteers on staff who are also SUNY New Paltz students, and that these make up nearly 30 percent of his total volunteer pool.

“We find that the New Paltz students are especially enthusiastic,” Conway said. “They want to be here, and they want to help serve their community. They may only be here for three or four years, but they’re helping the people they see every day – store owners, retired people, even their fellow students on campus. It’s a nice way to give back.”

Volunteering with the Rescue Squad also offers students interested in medical careers valuable training opportunities, including EMT classes and ambulance driving lessons.

“Our volunteers get experience in basic patient care,” Conway said. “They get to see a whole bunch of situations, from a stubbed toe to a heart attack, and the up-close-and-personal patient interaction you just don’t get anywhere else – the things you can’t read in a book.”

Many student volunteers at the Squad end up forming life-long relationships with the New Paltz community. University Police Chief David Dugatkin ’85 is a prime example: he first volunteered with the NPRS as a student more than 30 years ago. Dugatkin, who remained in the region, continued to serve the Squad after graduation and rose through the ranks to eventually serve as NPRS Captain. He continues to work with the Rescue Squad to this day.

“There is a powerful synergy between the college and the Squad,” Dugatkin said. “It gets good, motivated workers local to the community and interested in developing medical and emergency service skills, and the students get invaluable experience that helps them begin careers in medicine and law, as well as opportunities to serve their community and do good, to meet new people and to expand their social experience in New Paltz.”

Daniel Rosado ’16 (Sociology/Criminology) has volunteered with the NPRS for most of his time as a New Paltz student. He said his interest in emergency medical service comes from his father, a former FDNY paramedic, but that his time with the Rescue Squad offers him more than the opportunity to follow in his father’s footsteps.

“Law enforcement is a career option I’ve wanted to pursue since I was in high school, and the experience in high-stress situations has helped me learn how to keep a level head at all times,” Rosado said. “But New Paltz Rescue also feels like a second home to me, thanks to the relationships I’ve made with current and past members.”

More information about the New Paltz Rescue Squad, including volunteer applications, can be found at their website.