MINUTES
WESTAC (Western Regional Trauma Advisory Committee)
DATE: June 13, 2013
TIME: 10:30-13:30
LOCATION: St. Mary’s EMS, Detroit Lakes, MN
Present: Tom Alinder, RN; Tom Nixon; Mari Elliott, RN; Curt Ireland, NREMT-P; Kelly Shannon; Khaled Zreik, MD; Nate Lebeck; Deb Syverson, RN; Steve Briggs, MD; Christina Pennel, RN; Doug Harthan, NREMT-P; Bud Belk, MD; Deb Stoa, RN; Sara Anderson; Nancy Nordick, RN; Toby Jezzard, RN
AGENDA ITEM
/ Discussion / RECOMMENDATIONSOR ACTIONS
Welcome & Introductions / · Group introductions were done.· Minutes from the March 14th, 2013, meeting were reviewed.
· History/purpose of the WESTAC was shared, including: we have a large region; we need to consider injury prevention activities; all members are important
Membership Review / · Membership Reviewed – the group would like to welcome Sheriff Kelly Shannon, from Becker County. Sheriff Shannon will be a public official representative on the WESTAC.
· Appointment applications need to be completed, signed by the WESTAC Chair, and sent to Chris Ballard. Chris will then send them on to the MN Commissioner of Health. / Action: Tom Vanderwal will check with Mark McCabe regarding an EMS representative from the West Central region.
Response: in progress
Action: Tom Allinder will check for a local public representative
Response: Complete
Action: Appointments need to be made for the WESTAC
Response: in progress
MN State Trauma System / · RTAC Leadership Summit was held on May 21 in St. Cloud.
1. Members representing the WESTAC were: Dr. Morris; Deb Syverson; Mari Elliott; Doug Harthan. Deb presented on the PI process the WESTAC is currently using. Mari was a representative of a level IV trauma center, and Doug represented EMS.
2. The meeting consisted of a lot of brainstorming for the future of the RTACs and the State Trauma System.
3. An executive summary from the meeting was shared at the STAC meeting on 6/4. The summary included four priorities based on the discussions from the regional leadership throughout the state. Many challenges were identified, which were reflected in the four priorities for the next two grant cycles, which are:
§ Establish robust regional registries (currently lack of data)
§ Establish a common regional performance improvement process (will probably base this on the WESTAC’s current PI process)
§ Create an orientation and mentorship program for new facility leaders (make resources available)
§ Increase public awareness of trauma as a public health issue (need to inform public that trauma care is available throughout the state)
4. Those attending the RTAC Leadership meeting agreed that it is a good idea to continue having the leadership meetings, to identify needs throughout the state, and to share ideas.
· STAC 6/4/13 meeting recap: Deb Syverson and Christina Pennel attended the STAC meeting.
1. Paul Saterlee, the Medical Director for the EMSRB has resigned
2. Joann Champagne, the interim designation coordinator is retiring
3. A meeting will be held with the hospital site surveyors – will wait to see if there are any changes with the site survey process; this group requested that site visits be done year round, so there is no backup of site visits created.
4. Discussion regarding the ability of the EMSRB to share pre-hospital data with the Dept. of Health for trauma patient care
5. The September STAC meeting will be “dedicated” solely to surgeon workgroup discussion. This is referencing the criteria for surgeon responding at Level III designated centers. Discussion regarding that waiting 30 minutes for a surgeon to arrive for the top tiered trauma response is too long; maybe hospitals shouldn’t be Level III if there is difficulty meeting the current criteria.
6. Tim Held shared that the 2014 legislative session is not a funding year.
7. Hospitals in our region who have been re-designated are: St. Francis Healthcare Campus, in Breckenridge, as a Level IV trauma center; St. Joseph’s Area Health Services, in Park Rapids
· STAC meeting future dates: 9/24/13; 12/3/13; 3/11/14; 6/10/14; 9/9/14; 12/9/14 – the venue will change as of the Sept. ’13 meeting.
Financials / · Due to our previous fiscal agent no longer being employed with St. Mary’s EMS, according to financial records Deb has available to her, the current balance is $6134.51.
· We continue to look for a new fiscal agent for the WESTAC. Discussion. Tom Allinder shared he checked with Essentia Health, and they are not interested in being the fiscal agent.
· Dr. Morris is still planning on approaching the Greater NW board members at their next meeting.
· Discussion regarding it would be good if we could maintain the fiscal agent in MN.
· Deb mentioned that maybe another option would be to see if FM Ambulance in TRF could become the fiscal agent – she will check to see if there is a way to carry over money from year to year by setting up a foundation account
· Christina will also check with the Foundation folks at Sanford in Bemidji.
· Discussion regarding what/who the other RTACs are doing for their fiscal agent. SMRTAC is establishing a 501C3 – discussions regarding the pros & cons.
· Doug shared that he will check with Perham Hospital.
· A needs assessment needs to be submitted to the state as part of the Flex Grant. Deb shared the results of the NERTAC’s survey monkey assessment that they completed. The results were passed around to the members. Discussion – most the needs identified in the NERTAC assessment are the same as the WESTAC. Group consensus that there is always a need for education.
· Deb submitted the Flex Grant final report in May.
· Reference to the “pink handout” – RTAC Grant Deliverables. The RTAC Leadership shared these proposed grant deliverables at the June STAC meeting. Everyone agreed with the deliverables. Discussion on the priorities in the WESTAC region – both the trauma registry and the trauma program manager orientation with performance improvement education both seem to be high priorities. The consensus of the group was that they would like a combination of both educational topics.
· / Action: Tom Vanderwal will check regarding Greater NW EMS becoming the WESTAC fiscal agent.
Response: in progress - Dr. Morris is planning on approaching the Greater NW board members at their next meeting.
Action: Tom Allinder will check regarding Essentia Health continuing to provide a fiscal agent.
Response: Essentia is not willing to continue being the fiscal agent. Complete.
Action: Deb will check with the Sanford Financial folks regarding FM Ambulance in TRF becoming the fiscal agent.
Action: Christina will check with the Foundation folks at Sanford Bemidji.
Action: Doug will check with Perham Hospital.
Trauma Treatment Guideline Poster & Manuals / · Discussion that it is probably time to create some new validation questions for the manual.
· Input that staff like it as a resource manual, others shared they are using it for education in their hospitals and for EMS providers.
· Dr. Briggs shared that there will be no major changes when it is revised in the future.
Toward Zero Deaths Activities / · Tom Nixon, the new TZD coordinator for the region, introduced himself.
· Regional TZD conference were held recently, with approx. 110 attending the NW conference in Bemidji, and approx. 80 attending the conference in Detroit Lakes.
· The 2013 MN TZD conference will be held November 14-15 in St. Cloud at the River’s Edge Convention Center.
· This year to date, there have been 133 traffic related deaths in MN, compared to 120 at this same time in 2012. To note, number of miles traveled has increased.
· A focus for TZD will be in “dispatching”.
· Resources from TZD can be found at: MNTZD.org
Injury Prevention / · Safe & Sober grant discussed
· Question if we could publish a resource site to get posters for ED waiting rooms?
· Tom N. shared that DPS has resources available on their website: https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ots
· July is “speed” month for law enforcement
Hospital Designation Site Visits / · Congratulations to the following facilities: St. Francis in Breckenridge has been re-designated as a Level III trauma center; St. Joseph’s in Park Rapids has been re-designated as a Level IV trauma center. Stevens Community in Morris has self-reported that their provider(s?) are not all current with ATLS.
· If your providers need ATLS, make sure you get them signed up early to guarantee a spot in a course. / Action: Deb will bring this issue to the attention of the MN State Trauma Coordinator and Designation Coordinator.
Response: Completed
Performance Improvement / · The group will move forward with scheduling the PI Forum - Part 3 program before the end of 2013.
· Discussion regarding PI indicators that hospitals are using in their PI process. Some are still closely watching documentation of GCS; another hospital is looking at tracking CTs done with and without contrast.
· ND Trauma System is tracking radiation exposure in pediatric patients – when were CTs & xrays done on patients, evaluating if they were ordered appropriately, or if there were other options. / Action: Members should be prepared to discuss and decide which indicators should be reviewed on a regular basis in this region.
Response: In progress
Trauma Registry / · Follow up from the March WESTAC trauma registry training in Detroit Lakes – positive feedback from the group. Valuable training.
· The state has completed the “data dictionary” for the trauma registry. The dictionary has minimal information per required field.
Non-Designated Hospitals in WESTAC / · Three hospitals (Baudette; Hallock; Warren) are currently not designated trauma centers.
· There are only a handful of hospitals in the state not designated, and unfortunately three of them are in the WESTAC region. We need to engage the three hospitals, to see if the WESTAC can be of assistance in getting the hospital designated.
Upcoming Regional Events / · The 16th Annual ND Statewide Trauma Conference will be held September 11th-12th at the Holiday Inn Riverside in Minot, ND
· Greater NW EMS Conference will be October 4th & 5th, in Mahnomen
· November 17th – a trauma conference will be held at Sanford in Bemidji, details to follow.
Regional Priorities & Concerns / · Tabled to next meeting.
Future 2014 Meeting Dates / · 2013 scheduled meeting dates: 9/26/13; 12/12/13. Will discuss 2014 meeting dates at Sept. meeting.
Other / · None
Next Meeting / · September 26th, 2013 at St. Mary’s EMS in Detroit Lakes.
Adjourned / · Meeting adjourned
· WESTAC PI Meeting followed immediately after this meeting.
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