Regular Membership Meeting January 24, 2000
CareFlight, Lexington, KentuckyUnapproved minutes posted for review
Officers Present:
Dennis Kiper, President
Jodie Hignite, President Elect
Rick McKinstry, Secretary
Laura Otte, Treasurer
Members Present:John Blumenstock
Melissa Fiegenbaum
Kim Phelps
John Hultgren
Alan French
Ruda Jenkins
Rick Nickoson
Julia Martin
Donnya Shryock
David Sloane
Rick Nickoson
Gary Stromberg
Carl Wells
Sandy Wells
Franketta Zalaznik
Guests Present:None
PROGRAMS REPRESENTEDAngel Wings
Just for Kids
CareFlight
STATCARE
UK Air Medical
CALL TO ORDERThe Secretary determined a quorum was present and President Dennis Kiper
called the meeting to order at 7:15 pm.
READING OF THE MINUTES
Copies of the Minutes of the KyAAMS regular meeting held on November 15, 1999 at STATCARE in Louisville, Kentucky were distributed and read by all present. The minutes were approved without correction.
OLD BUSINESS
KyAAMS TEE SHIRT LOGO
Jodie Hignite will finalize the design of the KyAAMS tee shirt. KyAAMS member programs will have until February 18, 2000 to get any updated pictures of aircraft to Jodie to incorporate into the design - otherwise artwork from the last logo will be used.
KyAAMS NEWSLETTER
As soon as articles are received by the editor (Paul Skaggs - STATCARE) our first issue will be printed. The representatives that were appointed from each member program that need to submit articles are: Just for Kids - Dennis Kiper, STATCARE - Paul Skaggs, CareFlight - Mike Orr, UK Air Medical - Steve Talbert.
AIR AMBULANCE REGULATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
John Blumenstock (chair) reported that the committee has developed proposed changes to the regulations. These proposals were forwarded to Keith Smith of the Cabinet for Human Resources (CHR) at his request and will be discussed at the next EMS council meeting. Some of the proposals are:
1. Helicopter transports crew will consist of a Flight Nurse and Flight Paramedic unless the program medical director determines that the mission profile requirements could be met with a different crew composition.
2. Allow aircraft to be shared to better utilize available resources, however when a back up aircraft is brought in the State CHR does need to be notified that day.
3. Eliminate regulations that duplicate language in FAR 135 since compliance with FAR 135 is already required.
4. R/W pilots currently required to have 25 hrs orientation to specific aircraft - proposed lower to 10 hrs. This is consistent with CAMTS requirements. After discussion decided state cannot require more than what FAR 135 requires. State regulations can't supercede federal regulations. Referred back to state to check with their attorneys. This does not prevent
an individual program to write a contract to stipulate their own requirements.
5. Revise Medical Director minimum requirements to be consistent with AMPA guidelines.
6. Changes in equipment / supplies required for state inspections. Eliminated many ALS/BLS items that medical helicopters never carried or used. A simple waiver process will need to be available to specialty transport teams (e.g. neonate transport). These waivers were discussed with the state.
John Blumenstock explained that enacting the regulations is a multi-step process. If approved by the KyAAMS membership, John B. will notify the state CHR who will meet with the state EMS council representative, Sherman Hockenbury who is writing the ground regulations. The regulations will then be presented to the EMS council. John Blumenstock encouraged anyone who may have concerns about the regulations to contact their representative on the EMS council. The state legislature will hold a public hearing on the regulations before they are approved.
Dennis Kiper thanked John Blumenstock and the Legislative Subcommittee members for all the work they had done on the proposed air ambulance regulations.
Dennis requested that a vote to approve or disapprove the regulations be taken by the members present. A motion was made to approve the regulations by Gary Stromberg, seconded by Dennis Kiper. The motion passed unanimously.
AIR MEDICAL MEMORIAL WINGS SOLD AT AMTC
Laura Otte, treasurer, reported that over $3000 was taken in from selling the Air Medical Memorial Wings pins at the AMTC in Nashville. Cathy Spry and Mo Nethery were instrumental in developing the wings that honor our colleagues that have been injured, or have died, as the result of an air medical accident.
The wings were sold at cost plus $1. 680 pins were sold so $680 will be donated. Two thirds of each dollar will go to the National AAMS Safety Fund and one third to the ASTNA (formerly NFNA) Bereavement Fund.
In addition, Rocky Mountain Helicopters, Corporate Jet, Inc. and possibly Sikorsky Helicopters have agreed to provide to KyAAMS matching funds for each dollar that will go the Safety Fund or the Bereavement Fund. Cathy Spry is following up with these vendors on their donations.
KyAAMS MEMBERSHIP 2000
It's time to renew your memberships to KyAAMS. Please continue to support the efforts of KyAAMS and encourage your fellow crew members to join with you. The interests of the air medical industry in Kentucky are best represented by a strong and unified KyAAMS membership. If dues are not received by February 15th your membership will expire.
KyAAMS Membership Dues:
Voting member: $20
Associate member: $10
Corporate membership and Member Programs: $100
An application may be printed from the KyAAMS web site:
http://hultgren.org/assoc/kyaams/homepage.htm
Mail this with your check to:
Kentucky Chapter, Association of Air Medical Services
c/o STATCARE
2807 Taylorsville Road
Louisville KY 40205-3166
NEW BUSINESS
TREASURER'S REPORT
Laura Otte, treasurer, reports that $4,414.55 is the current KyAAMS account balance. The invoices for the memorial wings and the sign that was purchased for the booth to sell the wings at the AMTC have been paid. The Chapter has no outstanding debts at this time. A deposit of $580 will be made. Approximately $30 is due to Cathy Spry for memorial wings postage costs. This brings the Chapter account balance close to $5000.
ASTNA POSITION PAPER REGARDING PARALYTICS
Jodie Hignite reports that the state boards of nursing in Alabama and Arizona have recently ruled that RN's may not administer paralytics. Therefore the flight nurses in those states were forced to stop doing rapid sequence induction (RSI). This has alarmed the Air and Surface Transport Nurses Association (ASTNA - formerly NFNA) that this may be a growing trend
nationally. ASTNA is planning to develop a position paper that supports administration of paralytics if competency and clinical expertise can be documented. Alabama allows flight paramedics to administer paralytics so that is how they are handling this until this issue is resolved.
Jodie proposed that a supporting position paper from KyAAMS could be written to the American Nurses Association (ANA). Jodie will wait for the ASTNA position paper to be written before making a draft paper from KyAAMS to be sure there are no conflicts with the ASTNA paper. She will present a draft to the KyAAMS membership at a meeting for discussion / approval.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS 2000
Prior to the meeting the Secretary received 17 eligible absentee ballots. Each Voting Member present who did not already vote by absentee ballot was given a ballot. These were returned and tallied by the Secretary. The results of the election are:
President elect: Rick Nickoson
Treasurer: Walter Middleton
Secretary: Rick McKinstry
Jodie Hignite, President elect, will assume the office of President.
Dennis Kiper thanked everyone for their support and involvement throughout the past year. Dennis pointed out that a number of important issues come before the Chapter that are addressed collaboratively by the membership. He would like to see the organization continue to reach out to its membership for their involvement.
KyAAMS MEETING LOCATION ROTATION SCHEDULE
The Chapter holds its membership meetings on odd numbered months, the 3rd Monday of the month at 7 pm. The meeting location is rotated between KyAAMS corporate member programs with the exception of the September meeting that is held at the Kentucky EMS Conference.
Should we continue to hold a KyAAMS meeting at the KY EMS Conference? Discussion by the group followed. John Hultgren made a motion, seconded by John Blumenstock that KyAAMS continue to hold a membership meeting at the KY EMS Conference. The motion passed.
Rick McKinstry made a motion, seconded by Dennis Kiper that the meeting location schedule be set at the next meeting (March 20, 2000) and that it be based on the KyAAMS corporate members who hold current membership at that meeting. The motion passed.
NAACS CONFERENCE
Kim Phelps asked that KyAAMS again help sponsor a NAACS conference that will be held in Louisville in June 2000. Kim asked that KyAAMS donate $250. With help from KyAAMS, the registration fee can be lowered enabling more communications personnel to attend. Dr. Martin made a motion, seconded by Rick Nickoson that KyAAMS donate $250 to defray some of the costs of the NAACS conference. The motion passed.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Dennis Kiper adjourned the meeting.
NEXT MEETING
March 20, 2000 at 7:00pm hosted by Just for Kids at Kosair Children's Hospital - Louisville, Kentucky.