REGION 1 EMS COUNCIL
January 20, 2005
Rome, GA 

MINUTES 

            Chairman Rick Cobb welcomed the guests including David Young, the new Floyd Medical Center EMS Director and Russell McDaniel from Rescue Air One. He also welcomed the new council members.

 Rick introduced Robert Whitten and Becky Brock from QAM to display their new product- an on-line patient care report program.

Rick gave the invocation and the roll call indicated that a quorum was present. The meeting was called to order.

The first item of business was the approval of the minutes of the last meeting in October 2004. Curtis Vincent made a motion that the minutes be approved as circulated. The motion was seconded by Don Starnes and passed.

David Loftin gave the Executive Committee report. Mr. Loftin reported that he needed nomination forms from the county commissions on several individuals before the next meeting. Mr. Loftin also stated that an amendment to the by-laws has been proposed which will be discussed in detail under new business. Mr. Loftin informed the council that the date and location has been determined for the 2005 EMS Legislative Luncheon - February 24, 2005 at 5 P.M. at the Georgia Railroad Freight Depot. He also asked the council members to track legislation on the website at

http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2003_04/leg/legislation.htm

          Mr. Loftin also announced that the first shipment of the Mark 1 Plus Antidote kits for ambulances were now available and would be distributed after the meeting to ambulance services that had completed the training.  Mr. Loftin also announced that the region was entering the third year of a three-year automatic external defibrillator grant cycle. He was searching for a location for the 10-12 units we would be receiving through this grant. Finally, Mr. Loftin informed the council about several grant opportunities for EMS through the National Fire grant, Office of Domestic Preparedness/GEMA and HRSA. The deadlines for application for most of the grants are January 31, 2004.

            Mr. Loftin stated that the region has changed the method of conducting National Registry testing. Mr. Cutcher arranged for several Vocational Colleges to coordinate the exams and has set the schedule for exams for 2005. 

            Mr. Loftin gave the Nominating Committee report. The nominating committee had met prior to this meeting and had recommended a slate of officers. The committee recommended the following persons to serve on the Executive Committee: 

Gary Watkins

Danny Hall

Herbert Dodd

Lonnie Oliver

Craig Norton

Greg Lord

 The chair took nominations from the floor. There were none. A motion was made to close nominations and accept the recommendation. The motion was seconded and passed.

The nominating committee recommended Don Starnes as Vice-chairman. The chairman took nominations from the floor. There were none. A motion was made to close nominations and to accept the recommendation. The motion was seconded and passed.  The nominating committee recommended Curtis Vincent as Chairman.  The chairman took nominations from the floor. There were none. A motion was made to close nominations and to accept the recommendation. The motion was seconded and passed. The new chairman, Curtis Vincent, took the floor.

            Mr. Vincent asked John Hitchens to give the EMSAC report. Mr. Hitchens stated that he had taken the appointment to EMSAC to replace Stanley Payne who had died last year. He informed the council that EMSAC would be recognizing Stanley’s contributions to the EMS community. He requested that everyone should mail him any photographs of Stanley for this recognition. He also talked about the trial of a synthetic blood product in Macon and would report on the findings when the study is complete. Mr. Hitchens is currently working on a task force to study the manpower issues of EMS in Georgia. A study will be mailed to services soon and he encouraged services to complete this and mail it back. The documents will be kept confidential and will not be shared with competitors. This survey would compare Atlanta with the rest of Georgia. Mr. Hitchens also mentioned that EMS needs a retirement system to attract more potential employees.  Mr. Hitchens informed the council about a possible problem with a flu epidemic, which could cause problems for EMS Services in this flu season because of the absence of employees due to illness.

            Curtis Vincent gave Rick Cobb a plaque in recognition of his service to the EMS Council.

            Dr. Mabley gave the Medical Director report. She reported that a new antidote for cyanide poisoning is under consideration for approval in the United States. She stated that current antidotes pose a problem for smoke inhalation victims who also have cyanide poisoning due to the combustion of plastics. The new antidote would not have this problem. The new antidote has been used in Europe for several years.  Dr. Mabley informed the council about possible changes in the compressions for CPR. The rate of compressions would increase while the rate of ventilations would decrease. The next meeting of EMSMDAC would be in conjunction with the CHANGES conference in Augusta. [Dr. Mabley will have a column in the region newsletter beginning in February 2005]

            David Loftin reported that Dr. Gray has suffered another stroke and is currently hospitalized at Floyd Medical Center Room 614. He asked for all to remember Dr. Gray and pray for his recovery.

            Jim Cutcher gave the training report. Jim reported that the National Registry exam schedule has been released and the Region is no longer sponsoring the test. The Vocational Colleges have taken that responsibility. He also informed the council about the critical care paramedic courses which Larry Vandegriff is teaching in the region. Jim stressed that each service distribute a training survey he developed to determine training needs. David Loftin announced that the American Heart Association will be conducting a MEND Stroke Instructor program soon. If you are interested, please contact David Loftin at 706-295-6154. Jim stated that there have been a lot of EMS personnel trained in MEND but there is a need to train hospital personnel now. Jim also mentioned that AED grants for rural counties are now available. Please contact David Loftin for more information.

            There was no old business.

            There were several items of new business.

            David Loftin stated that a by-laws change has been proposed which would increase the number of at-large positions from 3 to 5 to accommodate air ambulance representatives who wish to be represented on the council. Only one person from an air ambulance service currently is on the council but is a representative of Paulding County (Robin Logan). The bylaws stated that any change must be read at one meeting and voted on at the next meeting. He considers this as the initial reading required and the issue will be voted on at the April meeting. Discussion of the issue followed. Don Starnes asked if the two additional slots could be designated for only air ambulance services. David Loftin stated that he would get an opinion and report back to the council. Don stated that if filled by persons other than the air ambulance services that could create an advantage for services seeking an advantage for zoning. Johnny Cowart asked if the helicopter services represented must be based in Region 1. David Loftin stated that it was his opinion that this would not be required since the last change in the by-laws.  Russell McDaniel asked about the time frame for passing the air ambulance regulations. David Loftin stated that the new rules and regulations must be passed before the work on the passage of the air ambulance regulations can begin. Rick Cobb asked when this could take place. David Loftin estimated that the earliest could be July 2006. Jean Miller asked about possible zoning of air ambulance services and if this could follow the same process as ambulance zoning. David Loftin stated that he believed that if zoning were done for air ambulance services, their zone would be larger than regional lines and would probably not follow the same procedure. David Loftin explained the procedure for filling at-large positions and that the positions would not expire until January 2006. Don Starnes stated that the last time the council filled the positions; it resulted in an uneven representation by members from Floyd County.

            Jim reported that there will be an EMS Instructor pre-test on March 23,24 in Macon.

            Craig Norton expressed appreciation for the condolences extended to Larry Dyer and his family due to his death. He thanked the services that rendered mutual aid, participated in the funeral and especially the air ambulance services that performed a fly-over.

            A motion was made to adjourn by Rick Cobb, seconded by Don Starnes and passed.

            The meeting was adjourned.  

                                                            Respectfully submitted, 

                                                            David Loftin, Recording Secretary