By January, all University Police officers will be certified as Emergency Medical Technicians by the state of Illinois.

“We are the only department in Illinois that has its officers trained as EMTs,” said Lt. Matthew Kiederlen, University Police operations manager.

Kiederlen said he thought the only other university department with EMT-trained officers was MIT in Cambridge, Mass.

Originally, University Police were trained only in CPR and other basic life-saving techniques.

University squad cars have had Automated External Defibrillators for about a year and a half. The funding and training for these devices was donated to the public safety department from the athletic department.

Kiederlen said the medical supplies that will be used by the EMT-trained police officers will be stored in the supervisor vehicles as well as strategic locations around campus including residence halls and other areas of high population density.

The officers are being trained through Kishwaukee Hospitals’ EMT basic program and currently are taking classes at Kishwaukee Community Hospital.

“They can provide the care that an ambulance can, prior to it arriving,” said Carolyn Acosta, Emergency Medical Services administrative assistant at Kishwaukee Hospital.

Cindy Graves, EMS system coordinator for Kishwaukee Hospital, said that the course involves 135 hours of class and 12 hours of caring for patients at Kishwaukee Hospital.

Kiederlen said that the idea behind the new program is to better serve the students.

“I think it’s a good idea,” said Amy Sharp, a junior speech pathology major. “That’s a good thing if they can help people even more than they are right now.”

In most situations, the police will be the first to arrive. An ambulance could take several more minutes to come.

“It’s nice for me to know there’s help close by,” said Carolyne Schoen, a junior early childhood education major.

There are eight University Police officers currently training to become EMTs. The remainder of the department already has been trained.