The January meeting of the Bayfield-Ashland Counties EMS Council was called to order by Gary Victorson, Vice President of the Council. The meeting was held in the Mason Emergency Service Meeting Room, Mason.

Motion made by Chuck Elton, seconded by Tom Harrison, to approve the minutes. Motion carried.

TREASURER – Chuck Elton reported that the billing for 2003 dues will be going out soon.

MDAC (Medical Director Advisory Committee) – MDAC met with several items on their agenda:

Quality Improvement – Services were reminded that their reports should be turned in to Merrilee Carlson as soon as possible. The left desk drawer of the EMS room has additional forms.

HIPAA – The requirements for HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) were discussed.

Dispatch issues – Dr. Thornton is looking for SOGs related to specific dispatch procedures. He would like to start small in working with our dispatchers, developing protocols for the trauma call. Discussion.

C-Spine immobilization – researching the development of protocols related to clearing potential C-spine patients in the field; one such protocol distributed for review.

HIPAA – Peggy Kman and Gary Victorson reported on the workshop attended at the Wisconsin EMS Association conference that addressed HIPAA issues. Copies of handouts received at the workshop were distributed to those in attendance. Four hours of training is required for all EMS and billing folks with several types of documentation required. Iron River has a CD that includes sample forms. These will be available to any service that would like.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT – Jan Victorson reported that the instructors presenting the hospital decon and field terrorism/hazmat/decon classes have a full scheduled. She encouraged everyone to attend. The Critical Incident Management: Initial Response course is still scheduled for the end of March. There is a class limit of 25 so make sure to register as soon as materials are received.

JOINT COMMUNICATIONS – Debbie Thimm and Gary Victorson reported that the Ad Hoc Committee formed by the two counties recommended moving forward with studies related to the two-county communications. Bayfield County voted to move forward. Ashland County voted it down. It is done.

RTAC (Regional Trauma Advisory Committee) – The “true north” RTAC has been officially named the Lake Superior RTAC. The Executive Committee will be established at the next meeting scheduled for February 26^th, 1:00 PM, at Lakewoods. This will be the voting meeting. If anyone is interested in being on the Executive Committee, please contact Karen Hansen for the application. The STAC (State Trauma Advisory Committee) does not see a problem with the state line issues (MN/WI/MI) reflected in our RTAC. The subcommittees will be formed at a future date. They will be very important to the workings of the RTAC. There is $26,000 in funding available the first year.

PORT WING TOWER – The Port Wing tower is operational and licensed. Reprogramming of radios has started in several services in Bayfield County related to the terrorism grant.

QUALITY ASSURANCE – Jan distributed information related to the state pilot program related to quality assurance. The committee developing the program is looking for services in the north to participate. Commitments from Ashland and Iron River.

STATE – Gary Victorson reported that Terry Gonderzik would like to attend a meeting of the Council to orient us to the state web based database. He would like us to be one of the first areas on line.

DEFIBRILLATORS – Chuck Elton distributed information related to defibrillators. Discussion.

HYPOTHERMIA THERMOMETER – Les Luder reported on his research with folks who do rescue work in the mountains out west. They still use a cheap digital thermometer, making the assumption that if a patient looks colder the patient is cold. Discussion about in accuracy of ear thermometer in the field, need for both oran and rectal probe, etc.

NASHOLM SCHOLARSHIP FUND – Merrilee distributed information on the Nasholm Scholarship fund. Any EMT may apply. Awards are dependent upon the number of applications and the amount in the fund.

NEXT MEETING – The next meeting is scheduled for February 27, 7:30 PM, at MMC in Ashland.

Motion made by Tom Harrison, seconded by Chuck Elton, to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned.

IN ATTENDANCE

Bill Andresen Bayfield

Merrilee Carlson MMC/Ashland

Chuck Elton Washburn

Viola Friermood Barnes

Tom Harrison Ashland

Peg Kman Barnes/Iron River

George A Koval Mason

Cindy Lazorik WITC/EMS Training

Les Luder Superior

Dorothy Tank Glidden, Ashland Co EM

Debbie Thimm Glidden

Gary Victorson Iron River/Mason

Jan Victorson Bayfield County EM