California Council of EMS Educators

Minutes – January 09, 2002

Present: Sarah Momsen (ICEMA), Kelly W. Lazarus (Santa Barbara County EMS), Karin Reynoso (LA County Ed.), Mark Lassman (Event Medical Services), Dean Grose (Event Medical Services), Dell James (ICEMA), Steven Leapley (San Diego County EMS), Barb Andrade (St. Mary Medical Center), Randy Karraker (Alhambra ROP/City of Burbank), Laurie Mejia (Long Beach Fire), Mary Jo Vincent (Orange County EMS), Laura Finn (Emergency Ambulance Service), Mary Kaylor (Riverside Community College), Cathy Ord (LBFD), Jodi Nevandro (SMFD), Carl Bjerke (SMFD), Karen Petrilla (Riverside County EMS), Pat Meier (LBMMC) Absent: Ann Boughey, Jim Crabtree, Elaine Dethlefsen, Ernest Foster, Bonnie Lee Giron, Wendy Grose, Cliff Hadsell, Jim Karras, Robert Lashier, Erika Reich, Barbara Sinclair, David White, David Wolf

Agenda Item	Report	Follow-up or Action Items
Call to Order	By Laurie Mejia at 10:00
Introductions	Laurie Mejia welcomed the group to the Long Beach Fire Department Headquarters and introduced Terry Harbor, the Deputy Chief of Operations. Mr. Harbor then introduced Dr. Resurrection.
Presentation	Dr. Resurrection delivered a lecture on “Leadership in EMS Education”
Approval of Minutes	Laura Finn stated that no formal minutes were available to be presented from the last meeting in San Diego. The host had stated that she was recording minutes.
Approval of Treasurer’s Report	Dean Grose reported that $ 50.00 from membership dues were deposited and $ 519.75 expended for the web site construction leaving an balance was $2,583.27.	The treasurer’s report was accepted by the committee.
State EMS Update	Karen Petrilla reported as follows: Discussion regarding standardized testing continues at the State level. § There has been broad representation including the fire departments, EMS, Education and Medical Directors. § All agree that a standardized test is preferable but the main concern is which test is most appropriate. § A definitive recommendation is expected by June of this year. § Discussion is leading to a consensus that there should be one entry exam and that no additional testing will take place unless an individual’s certification expires. Then, § if the expiration is less than one year old, they must be retested and have accomplished additional CEUs. § if the expiration is over one year old, skills validation would also be required. Regulatory changes for training facilities are being proposed. § A Medical Director must be in place – discussion continues as to what type of background the Medical Director should have.
	· A discussion is also ongoing regarding the background of principal instructors. · The overall feeling is that the requirements will remain the same, but will be better defined and more strictly enforced. The State might regulate training centers rather than having local EMS agencies regulate them. · Local agencies may validate the initial packet and pass it on to the State where a three person onsite review panel, consisting of volunteers from other outside agencies, will finalize the process. · Karen Reynoso suggested that one might question the authority of the State to use an outside panel. · Dean Grose posed the question of whether there are other models (fire department or nursing schools) to use as a reference. A discussion ensued regarding the defined process of test administration. · Mary Jo Vincent pointed out that the National Registry had no objection to having departments (for example; human resources departments) administering the tests. · A concern was voiced that any exam should be secured to limit the possibility that the training centers might be “teaching to the exam”. · Mary Jo also added that the National Registry also liked the skills validation sheets developed by C2E2. A discussion began regarding standardized skills testing statewide. · Mary Kaylor commented that it may be problematic, in that an inconsistency may take place, to use standardized skills testing but not have it standardized to the written exam. A discussion took place regarding minimum requirements being met and the reality of “real world” variances. · Steve Leapley, Cathy Ord and Karen Reynoso all voiced their belief that “standard” has commonly come to mean “bare minimum” as it relates to core knowledge. · Steve Leapley requested validation that Title XXII, the DOT curriculum and National Registry exams were all based on different standards.
Lunch	At 11:40 the group took a break to enjoy a delicious lunch and networking opportunity. Generous compliments were offered to Laurie Mejia for her efforts.
	The meeting was reconvened with Dean Grose reminding everyone that CEUs were only provided for members who have paid their dues. He also stated that no CEUs were issued for the presentation in October.
	Dean’s announcements were followed by a lengthy discussion regarding state licensure, certification and background investigations. Karen Petrilla asked for direction from the group in developing a position statement regarding the type of CEUs that EMT-1s should obtain to be recertified.	After lengthy discussion, the following position statement was adopted by the group: “ Required continuing education units must represent and reinforce the critical knowledge and skills that are integral to the provider’s current position and also demonstrate a broad representation of disciplines related to that position” Further, after discussion, the group also came to the consensus that: “ any mandatory test required for licensure or certification be based primarily on standardized basic core curricula and skill sets along with a mechanism providing local agencies the flexibility, latitude and opportunity to ensure an appreciation of local practices and protocols”.
Web Site Status Report	In the absence of Jim Karras, Laura Finn reported that the website was up and running at www.C2E2.com. · Questions were asked regarding features that were available and a short discussion followed. · Laura let the group know that they could link their business sites to the C2E2 site and it would automatically forward their mail to their business e-mail address. · It was mentioned that guidelines should probably be developed as to what types of materials were acceptable to post on the C2E2 site. · The possibility of establishing a password coded “members only” area was discussed.	Jim Karras will be contacted by Laura Finn to further define the capabilities and features of the website.
Round Robin	Karen Petrilla announced that Riverside County will be having its “1^st Annual EMS Conference” in Palm Springs 4/30 – 5/2/2002. There will be preconference PHTLS and Research sessions. She also announced that legislation was passed late last year that requires EMTs to be able to use EpiPens. Mary Kaylor stated that she is experiencing “no shortage of students” for her program.	Karen Petrilla would like to have a current 2002 membership roster published at the next meeting.
	Pat Meier introduced herself as a new member. She is the PLN at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. Mary Jo Vincent shared printed information regarding the new infant seat requirements. She described her EMS Agency as continuing to be “WMD Focused”. She shared the progress in Orange County toward obtaining Mark I Kits. She announced that on May 15^th, the Nurse Recognition Lunch will take place in conjunction with the Orange County Education and Training Council’s “Lifeline to EMS” Conference. Laurie Mejia said Long Beach FD is starting a new class. Steve Leapley announced that San Diego EMS has a website up at www.emsandiego.com. Their agency is offering three presentations specific to WMD to Physicians, Ancillary Medical Staff, and the general public. He wanted the group to be aware of the National Association of EMS Educators and their website at www.naemsa.org. He also described what he called the STAT medic course. Dell James and Sarah Momson enthusiastically described the PEEP course they attended recently. Kelly Lazarus described an expanded scope trial study being conducted in Santa Barbara in conjunction with Alan Hancock College. The scope will include IM and SQ injections of epi, narcan and glucagon, along with the administraton of albuterol and glucose monitoring. Santa Barbara will be having its EMS Conference on the first of November. Their website is up with new protocols and policy manuals. Karen Reynoso stated that she is returning to the council after a work related absence and that she is having to drop classes due to diminishing enrollment. She announced a conference of the California Association of Health Care Educators on May 2-4, 2002. Karen made the recommendation to offer to car pool with others to bring new members to our meetings. Mark Lassman and Dean Grose stated that they are in need of employees.
Adjournment	With there being no further discussion, the meeting was adjourned by Dean Grose at 14:15. The next meeting will be April 10th in Santa Barbara.