Present: Meeker, Hunjadi, TeStroete, Schilder, McCarrier, Allen, Schultz, Hackett

Notified Absent: Blount, Teale, Merrill

Absent Without 48-Hour Notice: Playman

Guests: Blaine Warner

Vice President: None

Secretary/Treasurer: None

Executive Director: Hunjadi reported on the EMS Week Thank You Cards and sundae coupon. Total cost for the project was about $1,700 including printing, mailing and assembly. The project took nearly 40 work hours to complete. The association has purchased a new large format (11X17) printer that prints 32 pages per minute. The cost was above what was originally anticipated but with a per sheet cost of about 1 cent each versus up to 10 cents each at Kinkos the extra cost will pay for itself. We will now run all projects of 500 copies or less in house and only go outside for projects above that quantity. The 100 MHz computer has been sold through the listing on the web site. The other office equipment items remain available. A few other inquires have been received. If the equipment does not sell by fall we may try Ebay.

Public Relations Director: Provided a presentation to Tri-County Ambulance Association in Northwest Wisconsin. Dane County EMS is also interested in a presentation.

President Meeker arrived at the meeting and assumed the chair from Vice President TeStroete

President: Meeker reported he has made contact with our attorney regarding our ability to convene closed session to discuss private or strategy matters. Because we do not fall under any government rules we are able to go into "closed session" unless our by-laws prohibit such action – which they do not.

Conference: 2002 - Meeker handed out the conference line-up and briefly went through the plans for the 2002 conference. All speakers and sessions have now been contracted. There will be an EMS Leadership Pre-Conference and an ALS for BLS workshop on Wednesday. This year there will be three sessions for Thursday - an EMT trial and documentation training, 12 Lead EKGs and Baxter Larmon doing a day-long session on the Dynamics of Trauma. Sponsorships have already sold over $4,000 and this year include a listing in the conference brochure. The exhibit hall is sold out for ambulance spaces and is about 25% full for regular spaces.

2003 – About 65% of the 2003 conference is set up. Still to be determined are the Pre-Conference sessions. Hunjadi and Meeker attended the North Dakota EMS conference in April and were able to identify several new speakers as well as obtain information on new and varied sessions.

Public Relations Director Review: Mindy Allen provided a brief report of her work during the five month contract she currently has. She feels this job has enough work to sustain a full-time person or at least someone who can work several eight hour days in a row. Because of her inability to dedicate this amount of time she feels she has not been able to do a service to the projects she attempted. She feels she has fell short of her own expectations and that of the association. Therefore she will not be seeking to renew her contract. The discussion then moved to how we should go about filling this position. The Executive Director suggests we consider looking for someone on full-time basis or at least someone who does not have a different full time job. Using a recruiter, ads in EMS Professionals, and suggestions from other board members for potential candidates were all discussed. The Executive Board will continue to work on the issue.

Administrative Assistant Review: Hunjadi reported on his review of our current administrative assistant. During the review process he said that Debi began to realize that her knowledge of the association’s operations has grown significantly. She is now capable of completing many of the daily tasks needed and also has a good working knowledge of most of the operations of the association. Hunjadi suggests that the Board approve a $1 raise to begin July 1, 2001. Motion by McCarrier second by TeStroete to provide a $1/raise for a total of $11 to the Association secretary. All in favor. Motion carried.

2001 Association Cruise Survey: Board members were provided with the results of the cruise survey. Slightly over 50% of occupied cabins returned the survey. Results were predominately positive. The information is currently posed on the web site. The Board of Directors will use the results to help in planning any future cruise events.

Future Cruise Plans: Hunjadi reported that Katie from Magic Carpet Travel will be leaving to pursue her new job as a flight attendant. It is unknown at this time whether or not she would be available and/or willing to assist with a future cruise for the association. Discussion followed regarding the ability of Magic Carpet to provided the needed support without Katie or a suitable replacement. If we should pursue a future cruise the need to find a new agency could be time-consuming. With the travel industry changing dramatically, large agencies could present problems with employee turnover and smaller agencies may not survive until March 2003 or 2004. If the association would host a second cruise in 2003, the earliest action would be needed in October 2001. Hunjadi will continue to explore options at report back at the October meeting.

HFS 112: Hunjadi reported that most of the provisions to HFS 112 have now passed. This includes the ability for any service beginning at the paramedic level on or after January 1, 2000 to staff with one paramedic and one EMT-Basic. What remains disputed is the ability for services in operation prior to that date to either start or continue care with one paramedic. A lengthy discussion followed on what action the association should pursue. Motion by Allen that the association continues to support HFS 112 as written with consideration by the Executive Board for staff time and funds with regard to other association initiatives. Second by TeStroete. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.

Database Changes: Hunjadi reports that the Association has completed the transformation to the new membership software. The new version is able to use the same database as the conference software uses allowing the association to use only one database set for all operations. Data has been hand entered over the past six weeks. Examples of some of the reports now available were distributed. The project has been more difficult and time-consuming than initially anticipated. No major problems are being encountered but some of the bugs are still being worked out. The new software will result in a change in membership renewals, cards, and reports. Anytime a member contacts the association that information is now recorded.

Financial Audit: The Ad-Hoc committee appointed at the April meeting met on June 29 to perform a review of the association financial records. Mary Schilder reports that only one discrepancy was noted involving underpayment of the administrative assistant by $30. The amount will be reimbursed on the next check. The records of both the association and the conference division were found to be in good order and complete. Motion by Schilder to accept the findings of the audit committee and that all financial records of the association are in good order. Second by McCarrier. All in favor. None opposed. Motion carried.

Group Buying: Discussion was held on the current group buying program as well as plans for obtaining bids for a new contract for 2002. Hunjadi provided information on a company that did a direct mailing to all of the EMS providers in Wisconsin. Several prices were found to be lower than those included in the current contract. Other discussion included some people’s experiences that items are sometimes back-ordered from the current supplier. A survey is being conducted with the 160 current Corporate members to obtain their experiences and input. Motion by Allen second by Schultz that the Association request proposals from medical equipment suppliers to become the provider for 2002-2003. All in favor. None opposed. Motion carried.

National Registry Test Complaints: Hunjadi reported on his contact with Bill Brown of the National Registry of EMTs following complaints to the Association on the pass/fail rate. Brown acknowledged that the fail rate has increased and that many of the failures have been scoring 67-69%. One area known to be a problem is in airway management. Brown stated that a new series of exams is due to start on July 1, 2001. This may solve the problem. Hunjadi suggests that we monitor the results with the new exam series and see if the issue is resolved before taking additional action.

Trauma Plan: Meeker reported on the lengthy dealings over the trauma plan that have occurred in the past three months. Two meetings have taken place at the Wisconsin Hospital Association. Discussion has ensued at several STAC meetings. Meeker reports that each time an action plan was started something occurred and the plan has failed in follow-through. Some members of the STAC are now looking to the Wisconsin EMS Association to carry the plan through. The latest meeting took place at the Wisconsin State Fire Chief’s annual conference. A plan was to have been forward to us for action at this board meeting. No information or plan was provided to the Association for our action. On Saturday, July 7, 2001, the conference committee for the state budget agreed to leave in funding for the next two years for the Trauma Plan. DuWayne Johnsrud placed this funding into the budget. It includes money to hire two positions as well as fund the regional councils during the next two years. While this funding is extremely helpful, it does not include all of the provisions contained in the original STAC plan/report. Lacking the information expected, no action could be taken.

Next Meeting with DHFS: The next meeting with DHFS and the Executive Board should take place in August. On the request of DHFS we will bring one or two issues to each meeting for action. Included in the survey of Service and corporate members regarding Group Buying will be several questions relating to their experiences in contacting the EMS Section office. Mindy Allen brought up deadlines that are missed and promises that they don’t keep. She cited the example of the use of the new EMT-Basic operational plans and the fact that when a call is returned it is sometimes with incorrect information or misinformation. Other examples were given. These issues, as well as the data collected from the survey, will be included at the August meeting.

Paul Blount: Meeker provided an update on the status of Paul Blount as a Board member. He has taken a new job out of the state and plans to move on July 12, 2001. He will resign from the Board at that time. Blount currently owes the association $325 in base pay that was provided prior to his resignation from the sales position. He states he will return the money as soon as he is able. Action on his resignation will take place at the October meeting.

Medical Director: Dr. Wesley has notified the Association that he would like to resign from his position as Medical Director/Advisor. He has held the position for five years and feels someone else should be given the opportunity. He would like to continue his column and features in EMS Professionals. Discussion was held on finding a replacement. Board members are instructed to consider candidates and provide them to the Executive Director or President for potential action at the October meeting. Dr. Wesley will continue as the Medical Director until a replacement is identified.

Survey Software: Hunjadi would like to purchase a survey product called Remark Office OMR. The software can be used much like a Scantron machine but requires no pre-printed or special forms. A trial version of the software was used for the cruise survey with very good results. In addition to association surveys and data forms, the conference division plans to move to this platform for speaker and conference evaluations. The plan is to obtain the evaluation sheets at the end of each day and then have the data obtained by the next morning. Cost of the software is $595. A new scanner with a document feeder is also needed at an estimated cost of $300. Motion by TeStroete second by Schilder to purchase the software and document feeder scanner. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.

Board Member Participation: Mary Schilder expressed concern over Board Member Marc Playman’s lack of attendance at the past Board meetings as well as his failure to notify the office. The applicable policies and by-laws were reviewed. Motion to begin the review and dismissal of Mark Playman from the Board of Directors due to his lack of participation and attendance at Board meetings as is outlined in the Board of Director’s manual. Action to take place at the October board meeting. Second by TeStreoete. All in favor. None opposed. Motion carried.

Patch Board: Jon Schultz brought forth the possibility of obtaining patches from our Service and Corporate members for display. Discussion followed on the idea including space limitations, ability to obtain patches and how they would be used. Schultz volunteered to coordinate the project. Hunjadi will add the request to the renewal letter sent to Service and Corporate members.

Interfacility Rules: The Association has been asked to participate in a work-group of DHFS to create a new level of provider tentatively called Critical Care Paramedic. The provider level is anticipated to be used mostly for interfacility transports and would have a broader scope of practice than EMT-Paramedic. Meeker suggests that Jon Schultz be placed on the committee to represent the Association. Motion by Schilder second by Hackett to have Schultz serve on the committee. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.

Member Letter: President Meeker provided a lengthy letter from a member. He made contact with the member in an attempt to discuss several of the points in his letter. Hunjadi reports that we have had similar contact with this member in the past. He further reports that several of the same points in the current letter were previously answered in writing by Hunjadi. President Meeker wished to be certain that the full Board is made aware of the letter and the issues contained within.

Items from the Floor: Blaine Warner in attendance at the meeting raised the question of a state run form for First Responders. His service as well as several others in his area are encountering several versions and feel an official or state version would be best. Because DHFS is still refusing to implement the certification of First Responders (based on the enabling legislation failing to fund the position) it is unlikely that they will create a run form for a level of provider they currently do not recognize. Other options were discussed including the Association obtaining samples and then creating a form for placement on the Resource Kit CD ROM, or offering the printed forms for sale. Hunjadi will present the idea to the Bureau of EMS. The item will be placed on the October meeting agenda for further consideration.

• Public Relations Director Position – Executive Board
• Future EMS Cruise – Hunjadi
• Association Medical Director Candidates – Board of Directors
• First Responder Run Form – October Meeting