Though BERT’s immediate origins date to just under two years ago, with a group of seniors searching for a service project, its roots go back over thirty years to Bellarmine alum Dr. Joan Combs Durso. Dr. Combs Durso remembers her 1978 senior seminar class and her other Bellarmine experiences as having guided the course of her life. She identifies the course as one which empowered her by imbuing a sense of agency and commitment: “We had a responsibility to act in the world the make it a better place,” she says.

Combs Durso went on to become an officer in the Navy, earn a Master’s Degree in International Political Economy and Development, and earn a Ph.D in Economics (both from Fordham University). When Combs Durso, who taught in BU's business school from 2002-2009, was offered the chance to teach a senior seminar class, she jumped at it.

Concurrently, a few tragic incidents brought disaster-preparedness to the forefront of the Bellarmine community. Rick “Tuggy” Passfield, a second-year student and lacrosse player collapsed and died during a routine practice in the fall of 2005. Many teammates identified with a sense of helplessness when faced with Passfield’s sudden collapse and resultant death.
 
In the summer of 2007, Molly Martin, BU MBA 2002, died as the result of a tragic explosion in her home near Bellarmine. Her local Belknap community, including Combs Durso herself, also felt powerless to help their neighbor.

These incidents, combined with rising social concern with disaster-preparedness, motivated Durso to write a proposal to integrate disaster-preparedness at Bellarmine. She received encouragement from Dr. Carole Pfeffer, now Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, who was then the Director of the IDC Program, and from Dr. Fred Rhodes, Vice President of Academic Affairs.  

In the spring of 2008, students in Combs Durso’s senior seminar class were offered the option to do a service project. She encouraged them to “pick a cause, and work on it.” The students, some of whom had been on the field during Rick Passfield’s abrupt collapse, explored the idea of emergency preparedness.  Combs Durso invited the only two students who were known to be EMTs, including freshman Evan Kuhl who had completed EMT training during his senior year of high school, to speak with the class about becoming an EMT.  
 
The class members decided to accept the challenge and developed three goals: to increase preparedness across campus with safety and training (a subsection of this goal was to get the entire class peer-certified in CPR by the end of the semester), to research and start a student EMT team, and for that team to be a model for other communities. Rapidly, the class garnered support from the Student Government Association (SGA), the Faculty Council,  Dr. Rhodes, Nurse Alice Kimble, and many other students, faculty and staff as well as alumni. The organization was recognized as an RSO (Registered Student Organization) by the SGA in April of 2008.  Kuhl, though only a freshman, was voted president of the group by the graduating seniors.
 
As the CPR certification element of the team’s goals was accomplished, team members directed their efforts toward EMT certification. In the summer of 2008, six students and Dr. Durso were trained in a public EMT course by Major Mike Will at Louisville Metro EMS and became nationally-certified EMTs.  EMTs cannot work without the medical direction of an emergency physician.  The team, the first and only one of its kind in the state of Kentucky, began working on operational procedures in coordination with Louisville Metro EMS, and LMEMS CEO, Dr. Neal Richmond, offered himself as medical director of the team. In the fall of 2008, the team transitioned from being an RSO to being part of the public safety division of the university, and now reports operationally to Joseph Frye, the campus Director of Public Safety. More EMTs were trained in the summer of 2009.  

This fall, the team has finally received all necessary permissions to operate as an event-standby service on campus and continues to perform ride-along training with Louisville Metro EMS.  Team members recently volunteered during Irish Fest, and will also be present for the upcoming Hillside concert.  
 
Kuhl, now Team Director and an accomplished junior, is proud of the team’s achievements, but is most proud of the sense of fellowship and volunteerism of his team. He is quick to point out that the students are unpaid, and have spent their own money on training, insurance, and uniforms. The BERT team is motivated singularly by a desire to improve their campus community, “We should all be able to help each other,” says Kuhl. The team’s eventual goal is to grow into an around-the-clock emergency response unit and to have an operating base on campus.  It has continuing encouragement from Louisville Metro EMS.
 
BERT continues to work towards increasing CPR and first aid training across campus. On November 15th, BERT will sponsor a “Super Sunday” CPR certification event at Bellarmine.  One-hundred spots will be available for BU community members to receive CPR Certification for only $5. The instructors will be BERT members who are AHA-certified CPR instructors, partners from across campus and the wider Louisville community. Email bert@bellarmine.edu for more details. Tickets will be on sale in the café during free periods in November.