What Really Is The MERT Team?

By David Tay

staff writer

As the school year at Northview High School commenced, students during the first several months have held witness to several “emergency MERT calls” over the school loudspeaker during the day. Despite the apparent gravity of these calls, (“This is not a drill” accompanied one announcement this fall) many students are unaware of what the MERT team actually does.

MERT, which stands for medical emergency response team “will respond to an emergency and provide treatment as an individual or as a team” according to lifesafty.com. Lifesafty also claims that MERT training “provides advanced medical emergency training to non-HealthCare professionals.”

Essentially, the MERT team at Northview High School consists of Northview staff members who have been trained to handle some medical emergencies in the event that a student should require immediate healthcare.

Tamia Zambrana, a campus supervisor at Northview and a member of the MERT team said that CPR and AED certification were part of her training along with learning about things like diabetes and taking care of someone who has fainted. MERT team members are typically trained to deal with emergencies such as heart attacks, strokes, seizures, fainting as wells as a variety of other traumas that students might undergo.

The MERT team acts as the true first responders to any medical emergency and will attempt to keep the situation under control until more certified professionals can arrive. Zambrana recalled that in an emergency situation, at least three MERT team members are usually required. One to take care of the person that needs the assistance, another person to control the crowd and another to call an ambulance and make sure they arrive at the correct location.

Zambrana described MERT as being fairly similar to traditional CPR and first aid training except that MERT focuses more on responding to an emergency, rather than just administering aid.

MERT teams, by many accounts are described as a good precaution to have in place at any institution where people work or learn. To have a trained medical team at the school at all times is a luxury most people hope they don’t have to take advantage of.

Photo Courtesy of  Less Stress Instructional Services 2016

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