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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEmergency Services Committee Minutes 11.25.2013 MINUTES EMERGENCY SERVICES COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 25, 2013 5:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Doug Poehls, Chairman Tom Nelson Clete Knaub Bruce McGee Bill Mountsier Rick Musson Jan Faught OTHERS PRESENT: Shirley Ewan Chairman Doug Poehls called the regular meeting of the EMS Committee to order at 5:35 p.m. There was no public in attendance. Doug requested that Jan give her ambulance overview report. Jan stated that currently the ambulance has a 26 person crew of which 4 are paramedics. The ambulance still maintains the status of basic life support per the Department of Public Health Services. Montana has elected to drop out of the National Register of EMTs. Per Montana's rules, the ambulance still runs as a basic life support service but after the endorsements the crew has received, they are able to start IVs, advanced airway, CPAP machine and use a 9 lead EKG. There are 8 medications that the crew has the capability of using. As of January 1 the crew will also have 4 new endorsements that qualify them for more advanced care. The crew will still not be qualified for advanced life support. Since 2001 Jan has been the lead instructor for the crew. She will not accept volunteer EMTs unless they already have their EMT license. An EMT is required to have 144 hours of training, 10 hours of ride -a -long experience and 10 hours of clinical (hospital) training prior to becoming licensed. Jan stated that she does EMT training for her crew but will be retiring from EMT instructing for the State, however a trainer will be available. Jan stated that it is hard to get volunteers that can work the hours needed. The volunteers are required to get 48 hours of additional training and 24 hours of refresher courses every 2 years. The ideal schedule would be to have 2 crew members on for each shift. Currently, she has 2 college students that are on call up to 100 hours per week, but that won't last much longer. She stated that one possible solution to the short handed volunteers is to incorporate a paid ambulance service 24/7. Jan stated that, to date, the ambulance has had 769 calls and by year end she expects it to be around 841. This has been determined by the average number of calls in December. The highest call volume was 881 calls in 2009. This year there have been 33 multiple responses where 2 ambulances were out at once or AMR was needed to attend the additional incidents. The City needs to realize that AMR is the backup for Laurel and if they aren't available, the next closest ambulance is Park City or Joliet. Bill inquired as to what a reasonable rate would be for a paid crew. Jan stated that $11 /hr would be reasonable for EMTs and $13.50/hr would be reasonable for paramedics. Jan stated that her crew would be willing to work for $9/hr. According to Jan's calculations, she could hire a full - time crew for $165,000 per year and she currently is allocated $167,000 in the budget. Jan stated that this does not cover benefits, which would cause the amount to increase. She also stated that 1 this would be a bare minimum crew. She would still need volunteers to fill in the gaps in hours when individuals were sick or took time off. Bill inquired as to whether the City charged for the service. Jan stated they did and that the rate that is charged would cover the cost of a full -time crew. The City receives between $20,000 to $40,000 more per year than the ambulance operating expenses This excludes the cost of equipment and the debt for the addition on the FAP building. She would also like to review the charges for the ambulance service as Medicare is still paying at a smaller rate that what is billed. She stated that another possibility would be to consider placing the ambulance in an enterprise fund, but would need funds to start up the fund. She feels that as an enterprise fund, the fund would show no profit for 5 -7 years, but would after that. Another alternative would be to establish an Ambulance District like the fire department has. She realizes that this would need to be brought to the public for a vote. Bruce inquired as to what the feasibility would be of getting the money any other way. Doug stated that the City could establish a Public Safety Mill to support all the emergency services. Jan stated that the City has the authority to levy 1 mill for the ambulance and up to 3 mills if desired, according to Montana Codes Annotated. Because of the distance Laurel is to a larger metropolis, the City is not considered rural area; therefore it is hard to get grants for equipment. Currently, the City has 2 vehicles, a 1999 rig with 160,000 miles on it and a 2007 rig with 180,000 miles. Jan said that the 2007 is starting to have problems on a regular basis. She would like to see the rigs rotated out every 5 years. A new ambulance would cost the City around $120,000 - $150,000 and would have to be special ordered due to the fact the ambulance bay has lower doors than what a new ambulances would require. Jan told the Committee that the City also owns a 1993 rig and a 1998 command vehicle. The rig is out of commission but the command vehicle is still used daily. Tom inquired as to the cost of the AMR contract. Jan stated that the cost comes from interceptions and the City is billed per ride. She also stated that Worden and Lockwood are not charged for interceptions, but only Laurel is charged. This is AMR's decision due to prior problems with the City. It would be great to get ALS licenses in Laurel so the City would not need to depend on AMR. Tom requested that more information be supplied to the group in regards to what exactly is needed by the ambulance, a 5 year plan, and the costs of each at the next EMS meeting. Clete would also like to know more about a Public Safety Levy. Doug stated that the next meeting would not be until January, which should give the group ample time to get the information. Rick stated that he knows what problems the ambulance has as his dispatchers also have problems getting an ambulance to an incident. Several times it has taken more than 2 call outs to get a crew to an incident, be it City ambulances or AMR ambulances. The next agenda item was an update on a Neighborhood Watch Program. 2 Rick passed out a checklist to the Committee on starting a Neighborhood Watch Program. Rick stated that the program is totally possible, but requires a lot of team work from neighbors. Jason Wells used to run the program. If there is a group that is interested in starting up a Neighborhood Watch Program, they need to contact the Police Chief. Other: Rick told the Committee that Jay Hatton is retiring from the police department and is going to work for the public works department. The City has one extra officer from the COPS grant and it has been decided, by management, that the City will not replace Jay. Rick stated that he is willing to abide by the decision, but feels that this is a step backwards for the City rather than a step forward. He now is limited to a 6 person patrol, rather than a 7 person patrol. Rick stated that he is disappointed in the decision, but not surprised. He feels that if there is no public outcry, the man-power will remain as is. Bill inquired as to what Jay will be doing. Rick stated that he will be driving the garbage truck and that is an enterprise fund vs. the general fund. This is why Rick believes a Public Safety Mill is so essential. The City will have to deal with less EMTs and Police Officers, which involves the safety of the City if a Public Safety Mill is not pursued. Rick mentioned that one alternative would be to remove Travis from the DEA task force and bring him back to Laurel where he could add to the 6 man rotation. Right now Rick believes that there should be 3 officers on each shift. Rick stated that he appreciates the fact that he is able to be honest and forthright with the Committee as to where and what the police department's needs and concerns are. Rick informed the Committee that Childers, who is also a paramedic, has applied for and received a grant for an automated defibrillation for the police cars. The officers on patrol will grab the machine on their way out and carry it with them during their rotation. Clete stated that he would like financial numbers needed for the ambulance and police department to move forward with a Public Safety Mill Levy. Doug will check on whether we want to include the fire department. Clete would also like to see how many men (women) each department would need and the vehicle needs of each department, as well as the rotation of each. The Committee needs these numbers prior to going to the council with requests. Bill would like to know where the money comes from and how it is spent. Tom mentioned that the department heads should also take into consideration that the City is growing and no longer will be a Class III community, but a Class II community and we need to consider the fact that we will need additional funds when that occurs. Tom will do some research on what a Class II city involves. Tom asked if he missed a meeting where financial numbers and a 5 -year plan were furnished to the group. Doug stated that none have been received as of today's date, but he will expect them at the next meeting in January. The next regular Emergency Services Committee meeting will be held in January 2014 3 The meeting adjourned at 7:12 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Shirley Ewan Acting Secretary 4