CESSA Protocols and Standards Subcommittee Meeting - Approved Minutes 10/06/2022

Meeting Minutes - Thursday, October 6, 2022 - 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. via WebEx

  • Dr. Lorrie Jones called the meeting to order at 2:33 p.m.
  • Attendees:
    • Alice Cary, Blanca Campos, Brent Reynolds, Chris Huff, Shelley Dallas, Cindy Barbera-Brelle, Richard Manthy, Leslee Stein-Spencer, Lee Reinert (proxy for David Albert), Kathleen McNamara, Jennifer Woolridge, Lia Daniel
  • Approval of the minutes for 9/22/2022 - There were two corrections to the minutes:
    1. Blanca Campos corrected the spelling of her first name
    2. Shelley Dallas corrected the spelling of her name
  • A motion was made to approve the minutes with the stated corrections. The motion was seconded. The meeting minutes were approved.
  • Approval of Charter:
    • Lorrie Jones discussed the written Charter for the Standards and Protocol Committee, which was shared on screen for committee members today. The Charter was presented at the last meeting, and the body approved its content However, because the Charter was not shared in written form in advance, several members wanted to review its content. It was noted for the group that this document had already been accepted.
    • Brent Reynolds asked for clarification - is this the same Charter reviewed last month? The response was "yes," this is the written document.
    • Approval of the written Charter was deferred to the next meeting.
    • Note: Kathleen McNamara stated that she did not receive any information. She was informed that she was an "expert consultant" and would not have received information - minutes and other materials are only sent to members. Once approved materials will be posted on the open meeting's page.
  • Meeting schedule was discussed
    • The question raised was does the body want to meet every other week, 1st and 3rd, or on the 2nd and 4th
    • It was agreed that the meeting will be held on the 1st and 3rd weeks.
  • Discussion on script vendor, Priority Dispatch (Ty Wooten, Director of Gov. Affairs for AED and Darren Judd, Co-creator of Protocol)
    • It was explained that there was going to be a presentation from script vendor, Priority Dispatch. The presentation was on protocol for PSAPs 911 call centers and not for dispatch by 988 to 590 vendors. There was an array of questions for Priority Dispatch that was laid out graphically to explain the dispatch system.
      • Q: Is the same script used if the person is calling for themselves vs calling for someone else
      • A: It does not matter who is calling, it starts the dialogue
    • Priority Dispatch must:
      • modify protocols to address mental health issues better, such as:
        • Active Suicide  vs Suicide Intent
      • and to develop key pathways on mental status menus
        • Helpful suggestions to de-escalate the crisis
          • Ambivalence 
          • Agitated
          • Irrational
      • Q: Can you explain more about dispatch decisions and acuity levels?
      • A: Acuity levels are determined by the severity of the threat to personal safety and/or health. The following examples represent acuity levels by police or medical decisions:
        Acuity level  Police Triage Medical Triage(suicide act)
        Delta Violent Life Threatening/not breathing
        Charlie Non-violent Alert
        Omega Need Referral Info Has not done anything yet
      • Q: Will dispatch transfer to 988 if there is a weapon?
      • A: Telecommunicators will not be a transfer a call to 988 is there is potential "lethality". Brent indicated that there is a video that show how the decision protocol works for 911 dispatchers. It has two sample examples.
      • Q: Where would a public health call for a service fall in the protocol?
      • A: It is up to the respective agency. The first question will drive which protocol to use. Note: A lot of calls get backup, law enforcement responses
      • Q: Is there any ability to go modify the dispatch response to the acuity level or risk attribution?
      • A: Because Priority Dispatch says it is a "Charlie" acuity level, does not automatically mean to send law enforcement, for example Each agency determines how to respond to each acuity level , such as 'Charlie.'
      • Q: Is an agency allowed to provide input on the script?
      • A: Yes A motion was made to extend the meeting to show the video. Motion moved and seconded.
  • New Business
    • Cindy Barbera-Brelle is the new Subcommittee chair
    • Two people indicated interest in co-chair, Chris Huff and Richard Manthy. It was recommended that there be two co-chairs. No discussion. A motion was made to have to co-chairs. Motion seconded.
    • Lorrie Jones officially turned the meeting over to the new chair.
    • Next meeting scheduled for October 20, 2022
    • Tentative agenda:
      • Debriefing on today meeting
      • Research other systems - attempt to contact with LA county
    • Reminder: Agenda for this meeting is to be posted 1 week in advance.
  • Public Comment: - No Public Comment
  • Motion to Adjourn. Meeting was adjourned at 4:07 p.m.