Columbia University Health Services

CAVA is a program that works closely with Primary Care Medical Services and is part of Health Services at Columbia and the Department of Public Safety . HSC provides medical direction and administrative support, while Public Safety provides dispatching services and on-scene logistical support. CAVA is a student-operated, New York State-certified, Basic Life Support (BLS) volunteer ambulance corps that provides prehospital emergency medical care, free of charge, to Columbia University's Morningside Heights Campus, surrounding University-owned buildings and the surrounding area 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The corps has approximately 65 active members and responds to over 700 emergency calls per year.

In addition to the prehospital emergency medical treatment and transport, CAVA works with Emergency Care Programs to host an on-campus EMT-Basic class that provides EMT certification to interested students. After completion of the course, many students then go apply for a position on CAVA. For further information about the course and working with CAVA, please contact cava@columbia.edu.