What should you do if someone is feeling really sick on campus? If they can walk, go to the Student Health Center in the I-Wing of Campus Center (down the hall from the Registrar.) If you can’t walk: call the University Police! Officers are trained to help students in distress.
A sick student at SUNY Old Westbury allegedly received delayed assistance after vomiting in the G-Wing on January 30th. The mess in the hallway was not cleaned up until sometime the next day.
“After throwing up a few times, I managed to get enough energy to walk on my own,” said the junior, who wishes to remain anonymous. This is the student’s second semester at SUNY College at Old Westbury. The student claims she was not feeling well that day. During her Video Production course with Professor Jing Wang, she felt the need to walk out. “One of my interns went to the health center to try and get a nurse for help,” said Professor Wang. However, the school protocols state that in case of an emergency the University Police must be contacted first.
Professor Wang was in the middle of teaching her 3:50 p.m. class when the student was not feeling well. “I couldn’t just leave,” said Professor Wang. “There were students in my class. While the interns ran to the health center to find someone to help the student, the student was waiting on a sofa outside of TV studio A. “It wasn’t until 45-minutes to an hour when University Police arrived,” said Professor Wang. The University Police should have been contacted first because they decide whether a student or faculty member must be escorted to the Health Center or an ambulance should be contacted. “The two police officers helped guide me to the Health Office,” said the student.
“University Police is our campus’ 911,” said Registered Nurse Adele Gutierrez. Gutierrez is a one of the registered nurses at the Health Center on campus. “In case someone can’t get up, they bang their head, or anything, they must always call University Police,” she said. The University Police are first aid certified. They have access to automatic external defibrillators or AEDs and are typically the first responders on campus. “They’re not security guards, they’re state police,” she added. The University Police will assess the situation and make the calls they deem fit. “The Health Center is really for people who can physically walk here,” she added. “We can’t run out. We would have to call University Police in that case.”
Professor Wang waited for someone to come clean up the vomit. “I stayed until 7 p.m.,” she said. Professor Wang normally leaves campus around 5 p.m. She was told that someone would come clean up the vomit. However, no one ever came. Julia Sorto, a part-time employee at the TV station, came in around 11 a.m. the following day and noticed that the night workers did not clean it up. “I was aware that there weren’t any custodians to clean up the mess,” said the student. “I assumed that my vomit was probably still there the following morning.” In fact, there was some sort of miscommunication between the janitors. Each janitor has its dedicated location on campus. Professor Wang later learned that the wrong person was sent to the location where the incident occurred.
People are aware that protocols exist but may not be aware of the specific details. “Jermaine Archer was very helpful,” said Professor Wang. Jermaine Archer is the Chair of the American Studies department. In an e-mail from Dr. Archer to Professor Wang, Dr. Archer explains, “If anyone has an immediate health need, UP should be contacted first.” Considering that this is Professor Wang’s first year at SUNY College at Old Westbury, she is now familiar with the protocol after this unfortunate incident. “It’s important for people to understand the protocol,” she said.
The phone number to contact University Police is 516-876-3333.
