Campus Safety officer cited for life-saving action

Robert Pierce, of Skidmore College’s Campus Safety Office, received the Robert Bunker Award for Outstanding Performance from the Northeast Colleges and Universities Security Association in recognition of his “life-saving action” on behalf of a Skidmore student last spring. The award, presented at the NECUSA annual meeting this summer, is the focus of an article in Campus Safety magazine.

Pierce was recognized for his efforts as both a security officer and an emergency medical technician in assisting a student who had a medical emergency in April. The student initially called for help from one of the College’s science labs, because she was feeling faint. On arriving at the lab, Pierce, along with members of the Skidmore College Emergency Medical Services, assisted the student and remained with her until she was able to stand. They urged her to go to the hospital but she declined, saying she felt better. While driving her to her campus apartment, Pierce again suggested that she go to the hospital. The student promised to visit a doctor the next day.

Just 20 minutes later, the student called Campus Safety to request a ride to the hospital. Pierce responded and drove her to the emergency department. She was discharged within two hours and returned to campus.

The next day at the start of his shift, Pierce decided to do a follow-up “welfare check” on the student. He asked a colleague to call her and tell her that he would be stopping by. On his way to the apartment, he was messaged by the colleague to report that the student could not get out of bed. Pierce immediately went to her room and found her suffering from uterine hemorrhage. He called for emergency assistance and aided her while awaiting the ambulance.

The student twice lost consciousness while awaiting the ambulance and on the way to the hospital, where she was admitted and given blood transfusions to replace the eight units she had lost.

A few days later, Pierce received a phone call from a doctor who had treated the student and received her permission to reach out. The doctor called Pierce a “hero,” because his intuition and action had saved the student’s life.

Pierce, the father of a college age daughter and son, said, “This case worried me. After she was admitted to the hospital, I thought, ‘What if it had been my day off?’” If it had been, he continued, “I would have suggested that a colleague check on her. A lot of people in the department would have done the same thing. I just happened to be the one on call the night she contacted Campus Safety.”

He credited the positive outcome to his knowledge and experience as an EMT—training he had just completed this past year, along with 20 students. Being a student at Skidmore was a new experience for him, and he said he enjoyed obtaining a new perspective.

Pierce, a nine-year Skidmore employee, is not accustomed to getting national attention for his work. While it may seem that he frequently has to say no to students— “we are responsible for enforcing college policy”—he noted that working with students “is great. It keeps me young.”

He’s proud of his department and the work it does to maintain the safety of the campus. In the end, “Everything comes down to Campus Safety,” said Pierce. “From being locked out of a room to saving a life, we’re the people who get the calls.”