Meeting Minutes of the Ashtabula County EMS Council November 5, 2009 Chairman Vincent Gildone called the regular meeting of the Ashtabula County EMS Council to order @ 1300 with the following present; Ed Giblin  Dan Kozial  Tim Howson  Ryan Fertig  Joyce Bronson  Rachel A. Boehnlein  Alan C. Gatz  Joe DeFazio  Rich Mongell  Jim O'Dell III  Amy Bernato  Michael Smith  Jim Baehr  Anne Discher  Rhonda Baehr  Vincent T. Gildone  Ashley Estabrook Minutes of the previous meeting were approved as amended. Motion by Ed Giblin - 2nd by Anne Discher. Approved by Council. Treasurers Report July 2009 - November 2009 Starting Balance $ 3824.19 Deposits $ 75.00 Total $ 3824.19 Debits $ 0.00 Available Funds $ 3899.19 Guest Speaker David Horton from Kingsville Towing & Repair presented to the council that his company just purchased a 60 Ton Rotator Crane. This Crane will be available to Fire/EMS for heavy rescue operations. David stated that this new equipment will also be available for training with departments and handed out brochures. Tom Steele from ATFD stated that they have used this company on calls and they are very easy to work with and recommend them for use in the future. Old Business There is no old business at this time. New Business There is no new business at this time. Committee Reports No reports at this time from Webpage, Protocol, Credentialing, QA, Bylaw, or MCI committees. Public Health - Joyce Bronson from ACPH brought to the council's attention that there are now 2 confirmed H1N1 cases in Ashtabula County. Hospitals are now only testing people admitted to the hospital with symptoms. Joyce stated that the county has given 3,282 injections and 328 nasal vaccines. There is only a limited amount of injectable vaccines and they are only available for children under 3 or a very limited amount of people with health issues. Many people are coming from outside the county to get the vaccines and ACPH is unable to turn these people down. ACPH is still holding clinics @ schools with the nasal mists but only as supplies last and as they arrive. Joyce also advised the council that H1N1 is not just a seasonal flu so it is recommended to get the shot whenever possible. Further discussion was held regarding this issue. Education - Mike Smith stated that the 2009 Paramedic Class had 13 pass the program with 11 out of 13 passing the National Registry. The remaining 2 still have 2 more attempts to take the test. Mike also said that the 2010 class currently has 18 students and is going well with a big test this weekend. State Survey visited UH-Conneaut last month to evaluate the Paramedic Program. They interviewed past/present teachers, students, chiefs, and instructors. They also visited CCAN. The Program is no longer on 'Compliance Agreement' (probation). Coroner's Office - The question was asked by Vince Gildone how the CO is going to function once Jim and Rich are laid off if this happens. Rich Mongell and Jim Baehr are unsure of that at this time. Money is still in the account but November 6th is their last "official" day. Rich stated that everything will still be the same for the next two weeks. Vince stated that NAD wrote a letter to the commissioners stating what is actually going to be explained to the families when the CO is unable to show up on a timely manner. Vince encourages other departments to write to the commissioners about how this will affect their departments. Rich stated that they legally have to keep the coroner's office open so everything is day by day. Good of the Order Dr. Alan Gatz just wanted to give his "props" to EMS crews in the area. There have been discussions regarding new protocol changes and he stated that any protocol concerns should be emailed to Dan Ellenberger. Vince brought to the council's attention the status of the issue regarding EMT's and Intubation. Further discussion was held around this issue. This bundle of billing issue was also discussed amongst the group. Next meeting is January 7th at 1300 hours in the EMA Office. Motion to adjourn was made by Joe DeFazio - 2nd by Anne Discher. Meeting adjourned at 1346.