A single training can change a life. See how Yale Public Safety’s Learning and Development Unit prepares the Yale community for emergencies, anywhere they may happen.
Every second counts
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The Yale Public Safety Learning and Development Unit offers and organizes a variety of courses for the Yale community free of charge.
Employees at the Institute of Sacred Music (ISM) have more than just music on their minds. They also want to be well-versed in keeping their visitors safe.
“Our unit hosts many public events and several of us wanted to refresh our understanding of the first steps needed to address a medical emergency,” said Ben Geertz, ISM’s lead administrator.
So, ISM contacted Yale Public Safety (YPS) to request a CPR and AED (automated external defibrillator) course.
“When we inquired about available training, we received a quick and enthusiastic response from the YPS team,” said Geertz.
“We are better prepared, as a community, to respond to a medical emergency,” he said, adding that the training ended on a high note for staff.
That is music to YPS’s ears.
Life-saving knowledge
While YPS may be best recognized around campus for its police and security officers, the department also includes a dedicated training team: the YPS Learning and Development Unit. The unit recently changed its name from the YPS Training Unit to better reflect its evolving mission to not only train and develop its officers, but to also educate the entire Yale community with critical thinking and problem-solving skills to respond to challenging situations and potential emergencies.
Unit Training Manager Anthony Cuozzo.
“We want to provide the most current top-notch in-service professional development for our own security and police officers, but also making sure we are omnipresent on campus,” said Unit Training Manager Anthony Cuozzo. “We want to make sure the Yale affiliates and the folks that come here and work here every single day have the knowledge they need to respond to potential emergencies they may encounter in their daily lives.”
Anthony Cuozzo and fellow training manager Steven Teague, both retired police officers, offer a variety of free courses to the Yale community, including CPR/AED, Stop the Bleed, First Aid, de-escalation, and situational awareness. Some courses are self-guided and available online, while others can be customized for in-person group sessions.
“When you think about the trainings that we offer here to our community partners, it’s not just about the work environment,” said Tom Madera, associate director of YPS Support Services who oversees the Learning and Development Unit. “You can use these skills anywhere. God forbid you’re at a picnic or a family event, and you need to apply a tourniquet.”
Various Yale affiliates, from Alumni Affairs and Development, the Department of Physics, to Human Resources, have already taken advantage of these free trainings.
Bringing in the YPS Learning and Development Unit gave our employees the opportunity to build confidence in responding to emergencies.
Jasmine Patron, Human Resources operations coordinator
Patron organized a CPR awareness training for her colleagues to equip them with life-saving knowledge and reinforce a culture of safety, preparedness, and care within their workplace.
“It’s empowering to know that our team can take meaningful action in critical moments, and that kind of preparedness extends beyond the workplace into our community,” said Patron.
The unit’s training managers are happy to hear the positive feedback from students, faculty, and staff after expanding their offerings to Yale community members.
“It’s comforting to know that the knowledge I’ve gained throughout my career, and the experiences that came with it, can impact others,” said Teague, who served 23 years in law enforcement before becoming a training manager.
While training officers and supporting their professional growth remain the top priority of the Learning and Development Unit, this community training is integral to the YPS mission.
“Yale Public Safety exists on campus not just to help protect students, faculty, and staff, but also to serve as a resource for our community. This unit exemplifies that, and I look forward to its continued impact on campus,” said Head of Public Safety Duane Lovello.
YPS Learning and Development recently held CPR training for staff in the Department of Physics.
Every second counts
Teague hopes the skills he teaches will give people a practical toolkit they can draw on if an emergency arises. That matters because in a crisis, every second counts. Just ask Security Manager Lucille Roach.
This fall, she and other Yale Security officers split into groups to practice chest compressions during an annual CPR refresher course taught by Cuozzo. Just hours later, on her way home from work, Roach was performing CPR on a stranger.
“I was talking to myself in my head, saying, ‘One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand’ and I kept doing it until the paramedics came and took over,” she said.
“When she came back the next day and shared that with the group, we were all just awestruck. What are the chances?” said Cuozzo.
Even as a 23-year veteran of the New Haven Police Department before working at Yale, Roach was thankful for the practice she’d had that day, “Who would have thought,” she said, that on my drive home, I’d end up helping someone like that?”
Yale Public Safety Courses
The Yale Public Safety Learning and Development Unit offers and organizes a variety of courses for the Yale community free of charge. For an in-person, customized session for your group, please send a detailed request by email to learning@yale.edu.
