MIT Emergency Medical Services

What MIT Emergency Medical Services does

MIT Emergency Medical Services is a student-run, volunteer Basic Life Support (BLS) transporting ambulance service operating under the regulatory authority of the Massachusetts Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) as part of MIT Emergency Management. Headquartered at 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 32-064, Cambridge, MA, it operates one transport ambulance staffed 24/7 during the academic year (Registration Day through Commencement) and one special operations vehicle for large events, with Professional Ambulance (Pro EMS) providing backup transport capacity. The service responds to approximately 1,200 calls per year, dispatched by MIT Police (617-253-1212), handling a range of incidents from minor injuries and flu-like symptoms to severe traumas and cardiac arrests across the MIT campus and MIT FSILG properties.

The core technology stack is conventional BLS-grade emergency response equipment — a fully stocked ambulance, AEDs, stretcher systems, and standby medical gear — augmented by a digital surface comprising a WordPress-hosted website (ems.mit.edu), Qualtrics and Google Forms intake, and the MIT Calendar for class registration. Supporting products include a free spring-semester EMT-B Certification Course (162-hour Massachusetts standard curriculum, taught at Pro EMS facilities and qualifying students for National Registry and Massachusetts State EMT-B licensure), AHA-certifying CPR/AED/First Aid classes, Stop the Bleed training under the American College of Surgeons campaign, the annual MassCPR mass-certification event, and the HeartSafe Campus program.

Revenue is generated through three streams: usage-based Event Standby fees ($60 per EMT-hour or $90 per EMT-hour with ambulance, plus 30 minutes of preparation; discounted for MIT cost objects), unit-priced training classes ($10–$65 per participant), and donations collected via MIT's giving portal (fund ID 2720556). The customer base is entirely internal to the MIT community — undergraduates, graduate students, staff, alumni, FSILGs, and MIT departments/labs — with no external commercial customers evidenced. Leadership is provided by student officers (Chief Sharon Zhu, Director of Ambulance Operations Rui Liu, Director of Professional Development Wendy Geng) under the administrative oversight of MIT Emergency Management staff (Administrative Director Suzanne Blake), with regulatory oversight from Medical Control and OEMS.

Name

MIT Emergency Medical Services

Legal name

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Website

https://ems.mit.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MIT Emergency Medical Services is a student-run, volunteer-licensed BLS ambulance service under Massachusetts OEMS that provides 24/7 emergency response, ambulance transport, EMT-B training, and CPR/Stop the Bleed education exclusively to the MIT campus and surrounding community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Emergency Medical Services

NAICS

Ambulance Services (62191)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Emergency Medical Response & On-Campus EMS/AED Programs (EDAEACAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) & Ambulance Services (BPAIAGAC), Emergency Medical Services (EMT/Paramedic) Training (EDAOAMAC)

Keywords

• Emergency medical services
• Basic life support ambulance
• EMT certification training
• CPR AED first aid training
• Event medical standby

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Event Standby Services: MIT EMS provides EMT standby services for events, charging per EMT per hour plus preparation time. This is a service fee model for event medical coverage.
2. Training Classes: Revenue generated from CPR, AED, First Aid, and other training classes offered to the MIT community. Classes are priced per participant with different tiers for certifying vs. non-certifying courses.
3. Donations: As a non-profit volunteer-run entity, MIT EMS relies on donations to fund new equipment and training. Donations are collected through MIT's giving portal (fund ID 2720556).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

MIT Emergency Medical Services is a student-run, volunteer-staffed Massachusetts-licensed Basic Life Support (BLS) transporting ambulance service that provides 24/7 emergency medical response and transport throughout the MIT campus and FSILG properties during the academic year. Beyond ambulance response, it offers an EMT-B Certification Course, AHA-certified CPR/AED/First Aid classes, Stop the Bleed training, and paid event standby EMT services, all delivered by volunteer MIT student EMTs.

Product overview

MIT Emergency Medical Services is a student-run BLS (Basic Life Support) ambulance service that operates as a single integrated offering combining emergency medical response with community education. The core service is the 24/7 transporting ambulance operating during the academic year. Supporting this are educational programs including the EMT-B Certification Course, HeartSafe CPR/AED Training, and Stop the Bleed training. The organization also provides event standby EMT services for a fee, and runs the annual MassCPR community certification event. All programs fall under Massachusetts OEMS licensing and AHA certification standards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BLS Transporting Ambulance Service

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MIT MedicalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMIT EMS maintains relations with MIT Medical administration. MIT Medical provides oversight and coordination for emergency care services on campus.
• Pro EMS (Professional Ambulance)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro EMS is called when a second transport-capable ambulance is needed. MIT EMS classes meet at Pro EMS facility on Saturdays for in-person lectures and trainings from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
• MIT Police DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMIT Police dispatches MIT EMS for all medical emergencies. MIT Police may respond to serious emergencies for safety and to provide first responder care before ambulance arrival.
• Cambridge Fire DepartmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMIT EMS maintains operational relations with Cambridge Fire Department for emergency response coordination.
• Boston EMSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMIT EMS maintains relations with Boston EMS for emergency response coordination when needed.
• Massachusetts Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMIT EMS operates under the regulatory authority of Massachusetts OEMS, which licenses the service as a BLS ambulance provider.
• American Heart Association (AHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMIT EMS offers AHA-certifying CPR/AED/First Aid classes using official American Heart Association materials. Instructors are AHA-certified and participants receive official AHA eCards upon completion.
• American College of Surgeons (Stop the Bleed)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStop the Bleed is a national awareness campaign supported by the American College of Surgeons. MIT EMS has trained instructors available to teach bleeding first-aid classes for the MIT community.
• MIT ASA (Association of Student Activities)minorOthersMIT EMS is an MIT ASA recognized student organization, providing institutional recognition and access to certain funding mechanisms.
• Medical ControlcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMIT EMS maintains relations with Medical Control, an external agency with which MIT EMS interacts for medical oversight and protocol compliance.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• American Red Cross: National organization offering CPR/AED/First Aid certification training to consumers and workplaces. Competes with MIT EMS's HeartSafe training program in the broader Boston-area training market, though MIT EMS serves primarily internal affiliates.

Direct peers

• Stanford EMS: Student-run emergency medical services organization at Stanford University providing ambulance response, EMT training, and community education. Closely comparable in mission, scope, and reliance on student volunteers.
• Boston University EMS (BU EMS): Student-run volunteer EMS organization at Boston University operating in the same Greater Boston geography as MIT EMS. Similar BLS ambulance service with EMT training, event coverage, and community CPR programs.
• Georgetown Emergency Response Medical Service (GERMS): Student-run, university-based BLS ambulance service at Georgetown University. Operates as a direct analog to MIT EMS — volunteer EMTs providing 24/7 campus coverage, EMT training, and event standbys under similar regulatory structures.
• Pro EMS (Professional Ambulance): Massachusetts-licensed private ambulance service based in Cambridge that serves as MIT EMS's documented backup provider when a second transport unit is needed, and also hosts MIT EMS EMT class lectures. Closely comparable EMS provider in the same operating geography.
• Cornell University EMS: Student-run ambulance service at Cornell University providing 24/7 emergency response and EMT training on a similar volunteer-staffed university model. Comparable in call volume scale and campus integration.
• UCLA EMS: Student-run BLS ambulance service at UCLA providing campus emergency response, CPR/AED training, and event standbys. Direct peer in scale, mission, and reliance on student EMT volunteers.
• Columbia University EMS: Student-operated volunteer ambulance service at Columbia University serving the Morningside Heights campus. Comparable in operating model, training programs, and integration with campus police and medical services.

Others

• American Heart Association: National organization that certifies MIT EMS instructors and provides the official curriculum and eCards for their CPR/AED/First Aid training programs. Enabling partner rather than competitor, but the AHA is the authoritative body whose standards MIT EMS delivers.

Regional players

• Cataldo Ambulance Service: Large private ambulance and EMS provider operating across Massachusetts, including Greater Boston. Comparable in BLS ambulance service delivery model and serves as another peer provider in MIT EMS's regional ecosystem alongside Pro EMS.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mit-ems

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles27 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about MIT Emergency Medical Services