The April meeting of the Bayfield-Ashland Counties EMS Council was called to order by Dean Hambrecht, President of the Council. The meeting was held in the North Wing Classroom of MMC/Ashland.

Motion made by Chuck Elton, seconded by Dan Diamon, to approve the minutes. Motion carried.

TREASURER – Chuck Elton reported that the First Quarter fees to the Council medical director have been paid. Balance of $5,943.96.

Motion made by Teresa Gunderson, seconded by Tom Harrison, to approve the treasurer’s report. Motion carried.

WITC EMS TRAINING – Cindy Lazorik reported that the Pediatric Education for Pre-hospital Professionals (PEPP) Class will be offered in Ashland in the future. She has been trying to go service to service to introduce the PEPP class and the Broselow tapes but the tapes are backordered. She also reported that there will be a free helicopter response and safety training course at WITC on Monday, May 19^th. Luke’s ONE personnel will be there with or without the helicopter.

ASHLAND CO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT – Dorothy Tank reported that the remainder of the county is in process of having address signs installed. They project a mid-summer implementation of use of the addresses by the post offices.

BAYFIELD CO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT – Jan Victorson reported that the radio reprogramming being done through homeland security grant monies continues throughout the county. The state designated mutual aid frequencies are required to be included in order for the grant to cover the reprogramming. If you have any questions, contact Jan. Jan also reported that the Port Wing tower is operational. Pager testing will be conducted the second week of May. EMTs are being asked to document their location and the clarity of the page as has been done in the past in order to evaluate the paging capabilities of the tower. Information will be distributed to South Shore Ambulance before their monthly meeting.

RTAC (Regional Trauma Advisory Committee) – Merrilee Carlson reported that subcommittees have been formed and are beginning to work on developed goals. The Committees are: Performance Improvement, Pediatric, Definitive Care, Public Education/Injury Prevention, Needs Assessment, and Out-of Hospital/Mass Casualty. Some of the topics being addressed include: standardize mass casualty identification and documentation to better manage a region-wide response and mutual aid, integrating pediatric education into all levels of response. Discussion related to the need for medical director education in order to assure consistency throughout the area. The RTAC meets every fourth Thursday of the month, usually at Lakewoods (Cable). Anyone interested in participating is welcome to attend.

NASHOLM SCHOLARSHIP – Merrilee reminded folks that the Nasholm Scholarship is available for responders who would like to attend training. See Merrilee for application forms. The question was asked if this scholarship could be used to bring some training to our area.

HIPAA (Health Information Portability and Accountability Act) COMPLIANCE – Discussion of ambulance service efforts to comply with the HIPAA law. Some services are sending the HIPAA notice with the bill asking for the patient to return the signed document and documenting that; some services are having the patient sign the document in the ambulance. Barnes has a videotape that present an overview of the law. Discussion about the need to have other agencies sign agreements with ambulance providers.

FIRST RESPONDER – Jan reported on the proposed first responder rules that will include the requirements to file an operational plan, have a medical director, and have a defibrillator. Discussion.

Motion made by Kevin Thornton, seconded by Dan Diamon, to write a letter documenting that member services do not support the mandate of an AED at the First Responder level. Motion carried.

MDAC (Medical Director Advisory Committee) – MDAC reported on the following:

· Dispatch centers in both Ashland and Bayfield counties are open to guidelines related to helicopter transport. Kevin Thornton is beginning to work on that.

· CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) – Kevin would like to work toward being ready to implement use of CPAP in the basic services this fall.

· TRAIN THE TRAINER – The train the trainer refresher class is scheduled for Wednesday, May 21^st, 7:30 PM at WITC.

SURVEYS – Two surveys were sent out with the meeting notice. Ashland Co will be sending the same surveys out to each service with a request for the information. Jan reviewed the mutual aid survey with the consensus that the Bayfield Co countywide mutual aid agreement made it easy to complete the survey at the county level. The ICS (Incident Command System) requires a review and return to her in the next two weeks. Both of these surveys are requirements for a FEMA planning grant each county may receive.

EMS WEEK – EMS Week is May 18^th thru 24^th. WITC is hosting the Helicopter class on May 19^th; Washburn is planning an open house for the 24^th; Washburn is also sending letters to the editor on EMS related topics to The Daily Press; Ashland Fire is having an open house with hotdogs and brats; Bayfield is doing education at the schools and Headstart related to use of seatbelts; Glidden is hosting an annual brat feed and go to the schools; MMC will be doing some articles.

SARS – Kevin reviewed the need to care for ourselves by using universal precautions. A mask (N95) should be used with any patient who has a cough or fever.

HIPAA – Discussion about billing practices. Several departments have secretary/treasurer personnel who do the billing; one uses a billing company; one has a person who does all billing, plus a secretary and a treasurer.

FUNDRAISING EVENTS

· Washburn Ambulance is hosting a three person golf scramble on June 14^th.

· Iron River Ambulance and Fire are hosting a dance at the Iron River Community Center on June 14^th.

NEXT MEETING – The next meeting of the Council is scheduled for Thursday, May 22^nd, at the Mason Emergency Services Training Room.

Motion made by Chuck Elton, seconded by Mary Ross, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned.

IN ATTENDANCE

Bill Andresen Bayfield

Merrilee Carlson MMC/Ashland

Dan Diamon Gold Cross

Chuck Elton Washburn

Viola Friermood Barnes

Teresa Gunderson Mason

Dean Hambrecht Great Divide

Shirley Hanson Bayfield

Verdayne Hanson Bayfield

Tom Harrison Ashland

Tam Hofman South Shore

Del Jerome Barnes

Cindy Lazorik WITC/EMS Training

Les Luder Superior Fire

Mary Ross Madeline Island

Stan Sadenwasser Luke’s ONE

Dorothy Tank Ashland Co EM/Glidden

Debbie Thimm Glidden

Kevin Thornton MMC/Medical Director

Gary Victorson Iron River

Jan Victorson Bayfield County EM

Chris Westlund WITC