University officials agreed Wednesday to increase the budget allocation for the Georgetown Emergency Response Medical Service and to assist the all-student emergency medical technician corps with the purchase of a new ambulance.

According to the terms of the new agreement, the university will provide the group with enough money to fully cover its annual operating budget, said Becca Danis (SFS ’06), director of public relations for GERMS.

The announcement followed increasing student calls in recent weeks for boosting GERMS’ budget, which group members said was low enough to endanger the operation of the two GERMS ambulances.

University spokeswoman Julie Bataille said that Georgetown will contribute an additional $45,000 toward the $90,000 cost of a new ambulance for the group. The rest of the cost will be met by donations to GERMS’ reserve capital account.

“We were absolutely thrilled,” Danis said of the university’s decision.

Neither GERMS nor the university disclosed precise figures regarding the size of the GERMS budget or of the university’s new financial commitment, but both parties called the increase “significant.”

“GERMS has always been able to meet its budget obligations and provides a valued service to the Georgetown community,” Bataille said. “The new budget allocations should actually enable GERMS to effectively manage resources to meet their annual costs as well as purchases of capital equipment as they arise, without utilizing reserve funds.”

The new arrangement ends recent speculation that GERMS might be forced to scale back its services due to budget constraints. With the group’s two ambulances, Units 6 and 7, aging and in increasing need of maintenance, GERMS was forced to confront the possibility that both units would be out of service at the same time, Danis said.

While GERMS only needs the use of one ambulance during its patrol, the loss of both units would force the group to revert to first responder status, meaning it would need to call city ambulances to emergencies on campus.

Danis said the university’s contribution will allow GERMS to purchase the new ambulance, Unit 8, and use it as its primary operational vehicle. The group hopes to retire Unit 6 and use Unit 7 for backup and new member training.

“This means we can continue to provide great care,” Danis said.

The new arrangement comes as pressure has mounted in recent weeks for the university to address GERMS’ fiscal problems.

Since the university sold Georgetown University Hospital to edStar Health in 2000, GERMS has not enjoyed the right to free use of the hospital’s medical equipment, straining the organization’s budget.

Danis said that GERMS has had to dip into its capital purchases account, which is financed by donations, to pay for the portion of its budget not financed by the university. This made the purchase of major new capital, such as the new ambulance, impossible. With the university’s new commitment, GERMS will be able to continue building that account.

While the university did not commit to continue raising funds to keep pace with future increases in the GERMS budget, Danis said the organization expects its operational budget to remain stable in the near future.