CHARTER OF THE ASHTABULA COUNTY EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES COUNCIL January 6, 2005 Section 1 AUTHORITY 1.01 Authority. The authority of the Council shall be vested in its membership and shall be determined by vote of the members at any regularly scheduled or specially called meeting. Section 2 GENERAL 2.01 Name. The name of the organization shall be the Ashtabula County Emergency Medical Services  Council (ACEMSC). 2.02 Gender. The use of one gender in this document is for convenience and clarity purposes. 2.03 Purpose. The purpose of this organization will be (1) to provide and organize an emergency medical services council in Ashtabula County; (2) to work toward the upgrading of emergency care in Ashtabula County by data collection, planning, and implementation of emergency medical services: (3) to aid in providing emergency medical service training; (4) to establish an effective public relations program dealing with emergency medical services; (5) to improve emergency medical services by providing guidelines for the practice of EMS personnel through credentialing and protocols consistent with the Regional Medicals  Board Emergency Medical Services Guidelines; (6) to participate in county-wide disaster planning and implementation; and (7) to provide the means for evaluation of the above. 2.04 Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Council shall be January 1 to December 31 and the November meeting will hold the Election of the Council. 2.05 Rules of Order. The rules contained in the most recent Robert's Rules of Order Revised shall govern the Council in all cases where they are applicable and not in conflict with these regulations. 2.06  Council Records. Any individual desiring access to Council files, tapes, or records must request so in writing, which must be approved by the Executive Committee. Section 3 MEMBERSHIP 3.01 Voting Membership. Membership for the Council will consist of the representatives or designated alternate of the following: Medical (1)   ACMC   EMA Representative Nurse/EMS Coord  ACMC   911 Representative Medical (1)   UHHS BMH  Nurse/EMS Coord UHHS BMH Medical (1)   St. Joes - Andover Nurse/EMS Coord  St. Joes- Andover Medical (1)   UHHS MHG  Nurse/EMS Coord UHHS MHG EMS Education (1)  Representative One Representative for each individual Ashtabula County Department that provides Emergency Medical Services. 3.02 Qualifications. All regular members must be active provider in Ashtabula County. 3.03 Duties: The voting members of the Council shall have supervision and control of the property and affairs of the Council; have the power and authority to do and perform all acts and functions consistent with these regulations, and make such rules and regulations as may be deemed appropriate. It is recommended that all voting members attend three regular membership meetings annually. All voting members will be eligible to serve on a committee and attend at least half the scheduled committee meetings 3.04 Vacancies: It is the responsibility of each entity to have representation on the council. 3.05 911 Representative. The Council shall appoint, from its current active membership, a Representative and Alternate to represent the Council on the Ashtabula County 911 Board. Section 4 MEETINGS 4.01 Time, Date, and Location. Regular membership meetings of the Council shall be held at 1:00 PM on the first Thursday of January, March, May, July, September, and November, or as otherwise approved by the Council. Meetings will be held at a place designated by the Council. 4.02 Committee Meetings. Committee meetings of the Council shall be scheduled as needed by the committee's chair. 4.03 Special meetings. Special meetings of the Council may be called by the Chairman or at the request of one-third of the membership. E-mail notice of special meetings shall be sent to each member of the Council at least seven days in advance. This notice shall state the business to be transacted at the special meeting. 4.04 Quorum. Quorum of meeting shall consist of ten of the members. The vote of ten of the members present at such meeting shall constitute a rule. Recommendations for protocol changes can be made only when a quorum is present. Changes will be made by the majority of the Medical representatives with the use of email. Section 5 OFFICERS 5.01 Principal Officers. The principal officers are the Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary / Treasurer. 5.02 Election. The Principle officers shall be elected by a quorum of the representatives of the Council. 5.03 Terms of Office. A term of office shall be two calendar years. 5.04 Vacancies. A vacant position shall be filled in accordance with Section 5.02 and shall be elected at the next regular scheduled meeting after a vacancy occurs. 5.05 The Principal Officers shall preside at all meetings of the Council and may sign and execute obligations and undertakings in the name of and on behalf of the Council. The Officers shall have general charge and supervision of Council affairs, and shall perform other duties as may be designated or provided for in these regulations. 5.06 Secretary / Treasurer: The secretary / Treasurer shall attend and keep minutes of meetings and all financial records of the Council. The Secretary /Treasurer shall issue notices of meetings of the Council and shall in general, perform all duties related to this office subject to the control of the Council. The Secretary / Treasurer shall keep a current list of members of the Council and credentialed EMS Providers in Ashtabula County. Section 6 COMMITTEES 6.01 Standing Committees. Standing committees of the Council shall be the Continuing Education, Credentialing, Disaster, Quality Assurance, Protocol and the By-Law Committee. Membership shall be established by volunteers. Chairs of the committees shall be appointed by the Council. 6.02 Education Committee. The committee shall be responsible for planning and conducting EMS meetings and county wide trainings. 6.03 Credentialing Committee. The committee shall be responsible for collecting departmental rosters assuring completion. The committee shall submit an updated list of approved providers to the Council on as needed basis. Each department will designate a training coordinator who holds the highest level of certification offered by the department. The training coordinator will be an EMS instructor or "Special Topic" instructor. 6.04 Disaster Committee. The committee shall be responsible for the following: establishing and reviewing policies and procedures for prehospital management of mass casualty incident, recommending protocol, and protocol revisions to the Council as necessary. Members of this committee may serve as field evaluators during disaster drills and suggest areas of educational needs to the Continuing Education Committee. 6.05 Quality Assurance Committee. The committee shall be responsible for reviewing ambulance runs that would be presented for educational purposes to the council. Assisting with run review and evaluation of data and suggesting areas of educational needs to the Education Committee. Department and patient names are to be withheld. County Training Coordinators will serve as members of the Q/A Committee. 6.06 Awards and Recognition Committee. The committee shall consist of the Principal Officers of the Council, and will review any nominations that are made and make presentations when necessary. 6.07 Protocol: The committee shall meet and review all county protocols to ensure that all state minimum requirements are met. 6.08  By-Laws: The committee will review and update the By-Laws annually and/or as needed. MISSION STATEMENT " To provide a forum for emergency medical issues, activities and events whose outcome should impact the future of Emergency Medical Services at the local, state, and national levels. " To create and foster a supportive operating environment for emergency care providers by coordinating the various levels of Emergency Medical Services, educational programs, and by interaction between Prehospital Care Providers, and other Health Care Providers. " To disseminate information to Emergency Care Providers about current regulations, proposed changes to regulations, and certification requirements through Continuing Education. " To provide information on new equipment, new medical procedures and potential problem areas as they occur. " To encourage the implementation of criteria and guidelines for Ashtabula County Emergency Medical Services and Prehospital Care Providers pursuant to local, state, and national criteria and guidelines. " To enhance the image of Emergency Medical Care Providers. " To develop EMS protocol guidelines within Ashtabula County with respect to the laws of the State of Ohio, Diversity and variability of the service area and in conjunction with the Region X trauma protocols Approved by the Ashtabula County EMS  Council this _______January 6, 2005 ______________________________    ________________________ Chairperson of Council     Date ______________________________    _________________________ Secretary of Council      Date   ROLE OF THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR Qualifications 1. Must be a licensed Allopathic or Osteopathic Physician in the State of Ohio; 2. Should be consistent with the Ohio revised code 4764-3-05. 3. Should be experienced in the pre-hospital emergency care of acutely ill or injured patients; 4. Should routinely participate in base-station radio control of pre-hospital emergency units; 5. Should be actively involved in the medical audit, review, and critique of basic life support and advanced life support pre-hospital personnel; 6. Should be actively involved in continuing education of pre-hospital personnel. Formulation of such continuing education should reflect aspects of quality improvement, the delivery of developed operating protocol, review of deficient areas noted through a process of run critique, and culminate in individual state recertification at the appropriate level; and 7. Should participate in the administration and legislative process affecting the regional and/or state prehospital EMS system. Responsibilities 1. The Medical Director, in conjunction with the council shall be responsible for the origination, development, approval and modification of medical policy and protocols, regarding EMS practice for FR, EMT-B, EMT-I, and EMT-P squads. 2. The Medical Director, in conjunction with the council will be responsible for monitoring all phases of the EMS system concerning medical matters and adherence to policies and protocols. This includes, but is not limited to: a. Run Review b. Monitoring of radio and telemetry communication; and c. On-site monitoring of field activities. 3. The Medical Director, in conjunction with the council, will take the legal authority for drug or other licenses requiring Medical authorization. 4. The ultimate responsibility for certifying competency lies with the Medical Director/Department Head, in conjunction with the council of the EMS system because all personnel within the system operate by virtue of the Medical authority over personnel with regard to patient care responsibilities. 5.      The Medical Director & EMS Chief will be responsible for the correction or disposition of problems in medical management. This includes: a.   Addressing the problem by direct contact with EMS personnel; b.   Direct intervention on a run in progress where possible; c. Notification/referral to the administrator or operational board for further investigation and/or corrective action; d. Establishing procedures for grievance and due process; and e. Revocation or circumscription of a Provider's privileges particularly when a  problem is addressed with regards to patient care 6 The Medical Director will act as a liaison between the squad and the medical community. 7 The Medical Representative shall be required to attend at least one (1) regular Council Meeting annually, and to participate via email/fax/ or regular mail for protocol changes. 8 The Medical Director shall promote quality pre-hospital emergency medical care and support the mission of the Ashtabula County EMS Council.