EMS DRC Meeting

6/23/2011

EMS DRC Meeting / Meeting Date: June 23, 2011
Facilitator: Rob Daughdril, DRC Chair / Meeting Time: 9:00 am
Person Recording: Karla Long Houston / Meeting Place: West Feliciana Fire District 1, St. Francisville
Present:
PJ Broussard, MedExpress
Robert Daughdril, DRC, Region 5
Chad Davis, DRC, Region 3
Dustin Etheridge, Region 6 EMS DRC Candidate
Marcia Fries, BEMS
Frank Graff III, DRC, Region 1
Jim Holt, Alternate DRC, Region 8
Stephen Kershaw, Alternate DRC, Region 5
Alan Lambert, BEMS
Karla Long Houston, Administrative DRC
Mark Majors, DRC, Region 6
David Marcus, DRC, Region 9
Cheryl McEntyre, Bossier Parish EMS
Donna Newchurch, Louisiana Ambulance Alliance (LAA)
Rosanne Prats, DHH
Gary Peters, DRC, Region 8
Steve Phillipe, BEMS
Ken Rousseau, Alternate DRC, Region 3
Lauri Scivicque, DRC, Region 2
Karen Stassi, DHH
Charles Stewart, Louisiana State Penitentiary
Michael Thomas, Louisiana State Penitentiary
Jeff Watson, DRC Candidate, Region 7 / Absent
Kirk Coussan, Alternate DRC, Region 4
Craig Edwards, Alternate DRC, Region 7
Thomas Hartley, Alternate DRC, Region 1
Chryal Honore, Alternate DRC, Region 2
Frank Jordan, Alternate DRC, Region 9
Timothy Morrison, BEMS
Lane Owers, Alternate DRC, Region 5
Donnie Simon, DRC, Region 4
Evon Smith, DHH
TOPIC / DISCUSSION / RECOMMENDATION / ACTION / FOLLOW-UP STEPS
1.Welcome, Introductions and Roll Call / Rob Daughdril called the meeting to order at 9:20 a.m. and welcomed the DRCs and other meeting attendees.
2.Review and Approval of April 11, 2011, Meeting Minutes / Minutes of the April 11, 2011, meeting were reviewed and approved. / Motion for approval made by David Marcus, seconded byFrank Graff III, motion carried with all in approval.
3. Old Business:
a) Surge Planning Update, EMAC / Emergency Mutual Aid Compact (EMAC) are state to state mutual aid agreements. Louisiana needs to work on a plan to EMAC out to other states.
Donna Newchurch asked why the State anticipates the need for EMAC units? Dr. Prats explained that there are not enough units being promised by the feds to meet our needs and that EMAC units are requested to fill the gaps. Surge ambulance units are requested first from the local communities then the State Contract then EMAC and last the Federal Contract.
Donna inquired if the State is contracted for EMAC can they work on providing units through the Alliance? Rosanne Prats replied “absolutely” and Marcia Fries added that the actual contract would be from state to state.
Dr. Prats stated that the State would need LAA’s help to notify the providers and Steve Phillipe added that they would immediately reach out to LAA with these requests. / Rob Daughdril suggested that the State could use the State Surge Contract as their EMAC Contract and that they should set a meeting with Victoria Carpenter to discuss.
Donna added that the Alliance would offer to notify providers of an EMAC once activated.
Dr. Prats shared that the State would coordinate communication through BEMS and LAA of an activated EMAC. / Marica Fries will set a meeting up at GOHSEP with Victoria Carpenter, LAA, Rob Daughdril, Rosanne Prats, Steve Phillipe and State Contracts Staff to discuss the State EMAC.
a) Surge Planning Update, Staging Areas/ Processing Sites / Rob Daughdril asked Steve Phillipe if the staging area MOUs were nailed down to make responding units more comfortable while they are here and suggested a logistics policy for the locations.Steve Phillipe stated that the Feds have all of their needs covered.
Steve Phillipe explained that the fuel sites are only opened if there is no fuel commercially available. / Donna asked when the “to be determined” sites would be nailed down on the surge planning maps and Marcia Fries responded that they would be confirmed in the next two weeks.
Chad Davis stated that there would be no one there to operate the fuel site if left at Nicholls and that this should be changed. Marcia Fries replied that DOTD/the AG Center operate the fuel sites.
Mark Majors lobbied for a Central Louisiana fuel site stating that everyone goes through Alexandria.
Frank Graff asked if it was possible to put contact numbers on all Surge Planning Maps. / Marcia Fries will put contact numbers for Surge Planning Maps.
a) Surge Planning Update, Surge Planning Numbers / Marcia Fries discussed the Surge Planning Number slide stating that 3 DRCs had updated their numbers from 2010.
Frank Graff asked what should be included in these numbers: what defines bariatric; do they includedpre-return plans; do they leave the homebound with their own plans out; do they assume the plans in place will work?
Mark Majors asked if units needed for shelters should be included in his numbers and if so, suggested adding a new column for these numbers.
Rosanne Prats suggested that they use the real numbers that were experienced during Gustav. / Rob Daughdril recommended that the DRCs update their numbers now.
Frank Graff said that his current number of 118 units would do with 10% bariatric. / Stephen Phillipe and Rob Daughdril will get together and take another look at the Surge Planning Number Form for the DRCs and have a new form for the DRCs by Monday, June 27.
Karla Long will distribute the new form to the DRCs by Tuesday morning, June 28.
The DRC’s will return this information to Karla by Thursday, June 30, Karla will follow up with DRC beginning Friday, July 1 and Karla will forward the updated Surge Planning Numbers to BEMS by the following Monday.
a) Surge Planning Update, Credentialing / Steve Phillipe shared that for credentialing/processing State Contract units, they would add radios and tracking units but would not have to look for what is already required on State Units by Ambulance Standards.
BEMS plans to distribute ambulance placards at the credentialing sites and Donna Newchurch commented that AMR emails their placards. / Steve Erwin from Ambulance Standards will be asked by BEMS to provide list of what each State unit is required to carry on their trucks.
a) Surge Planning Update, RFP Process / Steve Phillipe stated that maybe in the next 30 days the State would be releasing the Emergency Contract.
Frank Graff asked what the big deliverables of this contract included and Steve replied that the big deliverables are:
  • DRC Staff Augmentation
  • TOC Augmentation
  • Processing Augmentation
  • Triage Augmentation

i. Mass Casualty
Planning / Marcia Fries reviewed the handouts on Surge Planning and Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) Planning. / Donna Newchurch asked for a timeline to complete the MCI Plan and Marcia replied that they will hold Regional MCI Meetings in July, then the plan template will be developed in August and Regional plans will be developed in September. / Marcia will send MCI Plan to the DRCs for input and review.
ii. Pan Flu Planning / Karen Stassi explained the need for Crisis Standards of Care to address what happened when there are no resources left and that EMS triage can’t continue to do business as usual.
Karen Stassi and Rosanne Prats shared that there is a public forum to address Crisis Standards of Care being developed by SSA Consultants. / DRC suggested considering the following when developing Crisis Standards of Care:
  • A clinical decision tree of who to take under what circumstances
  • Liability issues must be addressed
  • These standards would go into effect only during a declared emergency
  • Community support is needed
  • Would EMS licensing requirements be waived
Karen Stassi suggested that the Crisis Standards Committee meet within the next 2 weeks and Jeff Watson responded that the medical directors may need 1 month notice to clear their schedules. / Jeff Watson and Mark Majors volunteered their Medical Directors to review the Crisis Standards of Care Plan. The Alliance will coordinate a planning cell meeting in the next month. Karen Stassi, Donna Newchurch, Jeff Watson, Mark Majors and their Medical Directors will serve on the Committee.
Jeff Watson will also ask Region 7 Hospital DRC, Knox Andress, to serve on this committee.
iii. Event Forms / The DRCs reviewed the Event Forms in the Surge Packet and expressed much concern about the Mission Request Log form. The DRCs agreed that there is no way for the individual DRCs to know the information required on the log, there is no way for the DRCs to cross walk this document with the run reports and that the DRCs are not involved in the payment process.
Steve Phillipe stated that he does not want to overburden the DRCs with paperwork and Marcia Fries added that the DRCs will have 3 volunteers each to help. / Chad Davis suggested that the Mission Request Logs be turned over to the provider’s that supply the State Contract Units. Mark Majors added that BEMS would be the only entity that would have all the information to compete the forms.
Rob Daughdril suggested that a committee be formed to review and revise the State forms. / The following DRCs will serve on the Forms Committee: Stephen Phillipe, Rob Daughdril, Frank Graff and Chad Davis. Rob and Steve will coordinate this committee and no timeline was developed to complete this work.
iv. Sprint Devices / BEMS is in the process of purchasing Sprint Galaxy Tablets for forms and unit tracking. The Galaxy Tablets will be for use in the state surge ambulances and not for DRC use.
Donna Newchurch asked if the units would be required to submit paper of electronically and Steve Phillipe replied that paper was better than electronic.
Mark Majors added that the Sprint handhelds did not work in a real world setting.
Steve Phillipe shared that all State surge units will be equipped with radios.
5. Next Meeting Date / With many more discussion items remaining on the agenda the DRCs decided to adjourn the meeting on time and schedule a conference call to complete the agenda. Motion to adjourn the meeting made by Frank Graff and seconded by Chad Davis, motion carried with all in approval. / Karla Houston will work with DRC Chair, Rob Daughdril, on setting a follow up meeting date/time and send meeting notices to the group.

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