Regular Membership Meeting November 20, 2000
Hosted by CareFlight in Lexington, Kentucky.

 

Officers Present:
Jodie Hignite, President
Rick Nickoson, President-Elect
Rick McKinstry, Secretary

Members Present
Jill Johnson
Cathy Spry
Gary Stromberg
Michael VanHoose

Guests Present
Scott Belin

Member Programs Represented
Angel Wings
CareFlight
STATCARE

Call to Order
A quorum was present and the meeting was called to order by Jodie Hignite, KyAAMS President.


Reading/Correction of the Minutes
The minutes from the September 13, 2000 KyAAMS meeting were reviewed by
those present. One item was inadvertently left out of the minutes:

A motion was made for KyAAMS to donate $100 to help sponsor the NAACS
luncheon at the October AMTC Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. The motion
passed unanimously.


OLD BUSINESS

KyAAMS Logo
The KyAAMS logo will be redesigned as soon as Jodie receives aircraft
artwork from Angel Wings and CareFlight. The KyAAMS website
(http://hultgren.org/assoc/kyaams/homepage.htm) will be updated with the new
logo. Tee shirts and other promotional items will also use the new logo.


Incorporation
With the help of Bobby Thacker, articles of incorporation of KyAAMS have
been filed with the state of Kentucky. It was recently called to our
attention that legally an association should not collect dues or advertise
an official address unless it is incorporated by the state.  Also, an
association would not be considered to be "in good standing" with the state
unless it is incorporated. Thanks to Bobby for his help in completing this
process.


Air Medical Memorial Wings
KyAAMS Air Medical Memorial Wings were advertised in the Air & Surface
Transport Nurses Association's (ASTNA) October 2000 "Across the Board"
newsletter.  In addition to being in the "Across the Board" newsletter,
KyAAMS Memorial Wings will be advertised on the ASTNA web site and a banner
will be made to display at conferences.

KyAAMS will continue to process the orders for the Memorial Wings and retain
full control of management of the sales. Cathy Spry will ask KyAAMS
treasurer Walter Middleton about setting up a special account specifically
to manage money related to the sale of Memorial Wings.  Rick Nickoson,
KyAAMS President-Elect offered to process any credit card payments for the
wings.

The wings sell for $8 each. $7 for each covers the costs for manufacturing
and shipping. $1 each will go to the ASTNA Memorial Fund. KyAAMS has donated
over $1200 to this fund as a result of the sale of the Memorial Wings. ASTNA
has asked other associations (Nat. Flight Paramedic Assoc, Nat. Flight
Physicians Assoc, etc) to participate in this effort.

ASTNA recently changed its bylaws to include establishment of a
Bereavement/Memorial Fund. In the event of a fatal air medical accident, a
donation of up to $200 will be made to each crew members' family or
designated charity. The "crew members" include the pilot, flight nurse,
flight paramedic, etc. involved.

Jodie Hignite, KyAAMS president, attended the memorial service at Duke Life
Flight honoring their pilot who was killed in the tragic helicopter crash on
October 17, 2000. Jodie reported that it was a very moving service. All crew
members present were wearing the Memorial Wings. Cathy Spry related that 120
memorial wings were ordered by Duke Life Flight.  About 4000 wings have been
sold nationally.


KyAAMS Meetings
The need for and frequency of KyAAMS meetings was again discussed by those
present. To be recognized as an association by the state, the association
must meet at least twice a year. According to the bylaws, the KyAAMS
officers determine when meetings are held. Quarterly meetings were suggested
with special meetings called as needed. Ongoing communication among the
membership, primarily via email, was noted as essential. It is important
that KyAAMS maintain a visibly active association so that the newly formed
KY EMS board will look to KyAAMS as a voice for our industry's interests.

Elizabethtown was suggested as a regular meeting place because of it's
central / neutral location within the state. It was agreed that the KyAAMS
meeting held in conjunction with the state EMS conference and expo is
relatively well attended and should be continued. The 2001 KY EMS Conference
will be held in Owensboro, Kentucky from September 10th to the 16th.

Election of the next KyAAMS Officers will be held January 22, 2001.  Meeting
sites / frequency for 2001 will be determined by the KyAAMS officers who are
elected at that meeting.


NEW BUSINESS

Kentucky EMS Memorial Committee
The Kentucky EMS Memorial Committee held its first meeting last week. The
meeting was chaired by Rockey Johnson and attended by KyAAMS president Jodie
Hignite. The goal of the committee is to establish a KY EMS memorial to be
located in Frankfort possibly next to the current KY Firefighters Memorial
site. The EMS Memorial has been estimated to cost $300,000. An account has
been set up by the committee to receive donations.

KyAAMS has been asked for a donation to develop a brochure to help solicit
donations for the KY EMS Memorial. KyAAMS has previously donated $500 to the
National EMS Memorial fund in West Virginia. All crew members involved in
the UK Air Medical crash were inducted at that memorial service.

The EMS Memorial Committee will meet again in December 2000.  Jodie will
attend that meeting to obtain more details related to the request for a
donation by KyAAMS and will give a report at the next KyAAMS meeting.


Election of KyAAMS Officers
New KyAAMS officers will be elected at the January 22, 2001 meeting. The
offices on the January 2001 ballot will be: President-elect, Secretary and
Treasurer. Nominations for officers have been extended until the end of this
month (November 30th). A member who wishes to suggest a candidate should
contact the nominating committee chairperson: Cathy Spry
(cathy-spry@statcare.org) by November 30th.  The ballot will distributed
to the membership following this date.

An eligible write-in candidate will be allowed on the ballot for each
office. The eligibility requirement to be an Executive Officer is that the
person must be a Voting Member of KyAAMS. A Voting Member must have a
documented membership record date no later than January 12, 2001.

Voting Members may cast their ballot at the January 22nd meeting or may vote
by absentee ballot. Absentee ballots must be received by the KyAAMS
secretary no later than January 12, 2001.


Critical Care Ground Transport to be KyAAMS Voting Members?
Jill Johnson noted that National AAMS as well as ASTNA have changed their
bylaws to allow critical care ground transport personnel to be voting
members of their associations. Jill proposed that KyAAMS amend its bylaws to
allow the same. Current KyAAMS bylaws state that "Voting Members are
individuals who are actively involved in the administration or delivery of
air medical services in Kentucky."

The KyAAMS Executive Board will look at the wording of the National AAMS
bylaws that defines a voting member to possibly incorporate ground critical
care as this is becoming the standard in the industry. It was agreed that
KyAAMS should be in line with National AAMS.

According to the KyAAMS  bylaws, recommendations for amendments to the
bylaws are made by the KyAAMS Executive Board and proposed changes are
distributed to all Voting Members at least 21 days before the meeting in
which a vote on the proposal is taken. Any amendment of the bylaws is
contingent upon approval by National AAMS.


Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned by Jodie Hignite at 7:56 p.m.

NEXT MEETING: January 22, 2001 at 7:00 p.m. E.S.T.
Hosted by STATCARE at Bowman Field Airport Louisville, KY.