Western Mass Emergency Medical Services Committee, Inc.

Meeting: Trauma Services Committee

Date: February 13, 2002

Place: Living Room, McCallum Building, CDH, Northampton

Presiding: Mary Cushman, Chairman

Called to Order: 8:46 am

Adjourned: 9:50 am

Attendance:

Present: Diane Brunelle, Felicia Bycenski, Mary Cushman, MJ Dinneen, Tracy Disilva, Timothy Emhoff, Clark Fenn, Jeffrey Lavoie, Linda Murphy, Richard Olsted, Ted White, and Melanie Zamojski

Guests: Dan Harrington and Dawn Josefski

Conflict of Interest Statement: The chairperson opened the meeting with a conflict of interest statement. No one present had any conflicts to divulge for any items on the agenda. Ms. Josefski to bring the conflict of interest form for individuals to fill out to the next meeting.

Minutes: Minutes were approved as written.

Welcome New Members:

Ms. Cushman had everyone introduce him or herself and welcomed the new members. She gave a brief review of the purpose of this committee. Each person was encouraged to recruit new members. We need input from all aspects of our region (institutions, services and interested parties) to fully represent our particular needs when making recommendations to the state committee. Mr. Fenn suggested that the chairperson send out letters to all the region hospital CEO’s and Emergency Departments to recruit additional members.

Action- Members to continue to recruit individuals to join this committee

Ms. Cushman to send letters to hospital CEO’s and Emergency Departments

Membership list:

The current membership contact list was distributed. Additions will be made based on today’s attendance and the updated list will be distributed at the next meeting.

Action- Membership list to be updated and brought to next meeting.

Update on State Trauma Committee and Subcommittees:

Members present gave updates on the activities of the State Trauma Committee and sub-committees:

- Clinical Sub-committee:

Mr. Harrington reported that this committee presented a proposed Trauma Triage Point-of-Entry plan to the State Trauma Committee. After a lengthy discussion and review, it was determined that the document meets most of the criteria that regions currently have in place, with the exception of some language and pediatric issues. The State Committee sent the document back to the sub-committee for further work.

- Designation Sub-committee:

Dr. Emhoff reported that the state is going to use the American College of Surgeons (ACS) system of verification for designation of Level I, II and III hospitals and all others will be called “system hospitals”. The issues of the expense for the hospitals and lack of financial incentives for the smaller hospitals to become Level III was discussed. Mr. Fenn reported that it would be too costly for a hospital such as Holyoke Hospital to meet the criteria of Level III. Dr. Emhoff suggested that perhaps the state would have to create incentive for the smaller hospitals by attaching reimbursement rates to designation participation. He also stated that the state has money available for bio-terrorism preparedness and perhaps some of that can be earmarked for hospitals. Mr. Fenn raised the concern that perhaps the state is forcing us to accept a plan that works primarily for the Boston area and doesn’t address the needs of our rural communities. He also commented that in order for this system to function properly it is imperative that pre-hospital personnel be educated in the appropriate utilization of the system.

- Injury Prevention Sub-committee:

Ms. Cushman reported that they are currently updating the state resource book of injury prevention organizations and activities. The next step will be to do an assessment of what is in place and develop a plan from there.

- Data Registry Sub-Committee:

This committee is making steady progress in the trauma definition and system development. They are working on identifying a data set and linkage to other data sets. Current trauma centers already report data to a trauma registry, but there will have to be a mechanism in place for “system hospitals” to enter data.

The update report ended with a brief discussion of the make-up of the State Trauma Committee and the question of equitable representation by smaller community hospitals. The appearance is that the committee is weighted in favor of Boston and tertiary care hospitals. Ms. Cushman stated that she has noticed a slight shift at the state level with respect to better recognition of the different needs here in western Massachusetts.

Committee Goals:

There was a lengthy discussion and review of the proposed goals. The final agreement was to have the following goals listed in the order of priority:

1. Standardize management of trauma patient care across the region.

2. Build an educational plan, which includes medical control and triage criteria.

3. Enhance the relationship and communication process between prehospital providers, medical control and receiving facilities.

4. Explore funding/grant opportunities for trauma care

5. Develop a database to track trauma care issues, practices and data

For the next meeting, Ms. Cushman would like members to review the goals and consider possible strategies to accomplish them. She will develop a template for each goal and the committee can propose solutions/strategies for each. The strategic plan can be developed at the next meeting.

Action- Members to review the goals and bring ideas for the strategic plan.

Agenda for next meeting:

1. Update on State Trauma Committee

2. Develop a strategy to achieve our goals. Begin to compile the strategic plan.

Next Meeting:

Wednesday March 13, 2002 at 8:45 am, Living Room, McCallum Building, Cooley Dickinson Hospital

Adjourn:

Motion made to adjourn at 9:50 a.m. Motion approved unanimously.

Dawn Josefski, Recorder