Minutes LMC Meeting – May 2017

THESE MINUTES ARE BEING POSTED UNAPPROVED

AT THE NEXT MEETING THESE MINUTES WILL BE APPROVED

THE APPROVAL PROCESS MAY CHANGE SOME SENTENCE STRUCTURE OR

WORDS, BUT SHOULD NOT SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGE THE CONTENT

Minutes of the Regular LMC Meeting of May 25, 2017

Present: Brett Hopper, Mark Reina, Cory Kissling, Jeff Czyson, April Anderson, Amanda Groshens, Mike Oliverius, Marc LeVoir, Jim Domeier, Susan Long, Karen Kozer, Kevin Miller, Anne Handahl, and Jason Luke.

Minutes taken by Amanda Groshens.

Meeting called to order at 1338 hours.

Minutes approved from April meeting as submitted.

AHEMS Updates

Finances

The operating income for April 2017 was $2,136,000 which was $687,000 favorable to budget. Net revenue was $488,000 ahead of plan, total salaries were $66,000 ahead of plan and non-salary expenses were $133,000 ahead of plan. Health insurance expenses for the whole organization were overestimated. We have reduced cost by eliminating high cost dosages of Epi and Narcan and fuel costs have been favorable.

**Every year AHEMS creates a budget to guide operations and provide expectations for recapitalization of the organization. When you hear us use the term “behind plan” this refers to the fact we are performing at a rate that will leave us short of our established goal. This does not mean we are losing money; we’re just not making the amount we targeted before January 1st. Likewise, the term “ahead of plan” refers to the fact we are doing even better than was predicted which is a wonderful situation!**

Measles Update and Vaccine

The measles outbreak, Allina is ensuring all employees have the MMR vaccination and in compliance with the requirements of the State of Minnesota and CDC. There are approximately 100 employees in AHEMS that are not in compliance. This could be due to a few factors which include incomplete vaccination paperwork, issues with pre-placement assessment process or birth date prior to 1957. These employees will be contacted and informed of options to be in compliance. The goal is to have everyone in compliance by July 24, 2017.

IAEP 167 Updates

Management Requests for Steward

Just a reminder that stewards should be requested by members and not by management. There have been some occurrences of management requesting and no request from the member. Management often informs the union of a member’s need of a steward and also informs the member that they must request a steward. Management will continue to keep this practice.

Committee Reports

Staffing Committee

The staffing committee will met again on June 6, 2017 for pre-bid meeting. We are looking at adding hours to BLS and Special Transportation for the Fall/Winter Bid 2017. The bid will start July 10, 2017.

Safety Committee

Safety Committee has not met since last meeting.

Rumor Control

13 Hour Shifts in New Ulm

There was a rumor about that the New Ulm bid for 13 hour shifts was held up “due to the union”. This was not true. There is not enough staff in New Ulm and no new applicants to support a 13 hour schedule at this time. Kevin will follow up on this.

Dropping Degree Requirement

There was a rumor going around the colleges that we were dropping the degree requirement. This is not true.

Children’s Truck

There were a lot of rumors about the Children’s truck. Cory’s email handled most of the rumors.

Standing Reports

Managers doing union work report

There were 36 total hours reported for April 2017.

Outsourcing Report

There was $3,894.30 reported of outsourced work for the month of April 2017.

Action Item Review

New Trucks Siren

The siren in the new trucks is much louder than other trucks. Decibel meter app reads 85 in new trucks and 70 in older trucks. Prolonged exposure to noise levels at 85 decibels and higher can cause hearing loss. This has been identified as an issue and on new trucks there will be sound proofing between siren and cab. Management will be looking into solutions for current trucks.

EIT (VST) Regionalization

Jason would like to look at separating out the EIT into Mounds View and Eagle Valley. A committee of Karen, Jason, Amanda and Mike will meet to discuss this further and look at schedules. This committee has not met yet.

Ops/Dispatch Workgroup

Angie spoke with Drew and Brett about this. They are looking at early June to start. They have not met yet. Kevin will follow up with Angie about this.

Start of Shift

This is still in progress. We are looking to streamline this process and use a similar process in all areas. We are looking to created start of shift and end on shift processes. The goal is to have this completed by the end of the year.

Uniform Policy Addendum

Kevin and Jeff met about this. They are looking to have the policy include uniforms for all job classes in AHEMS. They are looking at some changes. It is currently being reviewed by legal. The polo type shirt has been approved to be worn in conjunction with the external carrier only.

Badge Access

Susan is still working on this. The process for gaining badge access online is not operational for AHEMS at this time.

Naming of Hospitals in CAD, EMMA and Phones

This is a work in progress. Angie is working with the billing department to find out the official name they need for hospitals and how is it pulled out by the software. Then Image Trend, CAD and the phones can be adjusted to match. It is a very large process.

CAAS Accreditation Update

Vince Robbins of MONOC ambulance in New Jersey will be conducting our mock CAAS interview soon. Kevin will be sending out more information to employees. We are in the process of updating all of our policies and sending them through a legal review. The sub group of Susan, Jeff, Karen and Ryan will review all policies after they are approved by legal. All sections have been launched. The last three to be completed are HR, clinical and safety. We are hoping for our site visit by the end of the year.

New Business

Length of Service Importance

It was noted that several employees that were honored at the last length of service were working on trucks during the celebration at Mounds View. Many members asked if employees are notified about Length of Service and whether efforts are made to get them to Mounds View if they are on shift. Kathy does get notifications out to staff and tries to get attendance numbers. Every attempt possible is made to get working employees back to Mounds View for the celebration. Some employees request not to attend.

Staffing Mini Bid vs Two Week Bid

There were some confusing emails sent out by staffing about a mini bid and a two week bid. Floating staff will be able to bid out their schedules throughout the bid or can bid every four weeks like they have been in the past. A new email was sent out to clarify. This process is working well.

Kronos

The switch to Kronos for scheduling has been a challenging process. There are several issues with the system that we are trying to figure out to work better for our workgroup. There are issues with shifts being assigned and not tracking of who assigned the shift or when they were assigned. There are also no automatic notifications when a shift is assigned. Mike is meeting with other leaders that use Kronos to learn more about the system and see if we can adapt it to EMS. It has made time cards easier.

LOA Changes

This will be tabled until Ryan is present.

Tardies

There is no notification to an employee when they are marked tardy. Dispatch fills out form and 610 is notified. Tardy and unscheduled PTO reports are sent to managers and sups every two weeks. Employees would be notified when they reach five occurrences which is a coaching under the attendance policy. The union would like to see a different process for this. At this time, there is not a reliable way to notify employees.

Next Meeting Date:

June 29, 2017 at 1330 at the Mounds View Conference Room.

Adjourned at 1458 hours.