To Whom It May Concern:

We wanted to follow up on the April 4 article in The Hoya concerning the “Save Georgetown Day” initiative [“GUSA Launches Save Georgetown Day Initiative,” The Hoya, April 4, 2017, A5] so that we could further clarify the privacy and confidentiality of Georgetown Emergency Response Medical Service calls as well as the policy on medical amnesty. This information is critical to students as they reach out and request help for another student, a friend or themselves. GERMS is a student-run volunteer emergency medical services organization that respects patient privacy and confidentiality. No information about a patient is shared with the university by GERMS. The Code of Student Conduct states:

“The Medical Amnesty and Good Samaritan Policy is designed to enable students and their guests to seek professional medical treatment in an alcohol or other drug-related emergency by reducing the possible barrier of disciplinary consequences.”

Statement of Policy:

When a student or other individual seeks aid for an individual experiencing an alcohol or other drug-related emergency by contacting emergency services, such as [GERMS] or the Georgetown University Police Department, the patient and the individual(s) reporting the emergency will not be subject to disciplinary action for the following violations in the Code of Student Conduct:

Alcohol Policy; Drug Policy – Section 1 (Presence & Possession) and 2 (Use).”

This policy has been in practice for many years and, as of two years ago, official language stating this policy was incorporated into the Code of Student Conduct expressly because we want students to know that a call to GERMS when necessary will not result in a violation, specifically with regard to alcohol and/or drug use as outlined by the medical amnesty policy.

Carol R.T. Day, faculty adviser, GERMS; J.V. Nable, medical director, GERMS; Lucas Kaplan, president, GERMS; Laura Dickinson, captain, GERMS