CESSA Subcommittee for Technology, Systems Integration & Data Management (TSIDM)
October 02, 2023, 2:00 - 3:30 PM
Meeting Minutes - Approved by Members 11/16/202
Subcommittee members: Brent Reynolds, Cindy Barbera-Brelle, David Albert (Designee-Lee Ann Reinert), Richard Manthy, Jim Kaitschuk, Ashley Thoele (Designee - Robert Van Bebber)
Expert Consultant Group (ECG) members: Peter Eckart, Chris Baldwin
- Welcome and Call to Order (Roll Call)
- Open Meetings Act
- Approval of the Minutes from previous meeting
- State Updates
- Planning and updates on deliverables for CESSA technology and data
- Next Meeting Dates
- Public Comment
- Adjournment
The meeting was called to order by Brent Reynolds at 2:02 pm
Brent Reynolds reviewed procedures around the Open Meetings Act and meeting logistics.
Roll call:
Present: Brent Reynolds, Lee Ann Reinert, Bobby Van Bebber, Jim Kaitschuk
Absent: Cindy Barbera-Brelle, Rick Manthy
Motion to approve minutes from Lee Ann Reinert, seconded by Bobby Van Bebber
Minutes from 9/18/23 approved by Brent Reynolds, Lee Ann Reinert, Bobby Van Bebber, Jim Kaitschuk
State Updates: Lee Ann Reinert
- We received word a week ago that IL was awarded the 988 Improvement Grant from SAMHSA at $7,775,777
- Currently working on terms and conditions to be met by the end of the month to ensure the money will go through
- From a state perspective, thinking through the most strategic way to use the technology part of the budget
- Partial fund use will include public messaging
- 988 Workgroup for October - Metrics and Evaluation
Arizona System
- THREE QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
- What do you see that seems like it might work in Illinois?
- What do we have in IL that supports something like this?
- What additional resources or hurdles would we need to overcome or implement something like this in IL?
- Illinois is trying to do something that has not been done by very many states. Arizona has taken over 30 years to develop this system
- Centralized Dispatch Hub - "airport model" uses GPS technology to notify, deploy, and track geographic locations. Connects dispatchers, crisis team, and electronic health record
- Comprehensive system: Mobile Crisis Teams - assessment, psychiatric inpatient, referrals to community mental health, access to law enforcement teams, connection to community resources, one and three day follow up
- Technology: Activations received through the app, consumer information and reasons for activation displayed, GPS tracking, one touch on/off scene, ability to enter disposition data, staff emergency one touch option
- App allows real time sharing across the continuum. Safety more of a focus.
- Brent Reynolds: Intriguing solution. One of the most important things on my end is the safety of those responding. Having that situational awareness does wonders for success in these programs. This is an important focus we should look at further. Do we know if this is an existing solution or is this a homegrown solution they have designed for their system?
- Lee Ann: AZ uses Solari. It's a functionality of their system, I don't know if it's part of others. It's not exactly homegrown. I do get the sense that any time something is developed for a State, it is modified to the needs of that group. It may be a functionality they specifically developed. Some of the privacy issues need to be tied to the state law. I don't think we could just buy it tomorrow off the shelf.
- Brent: At what point is this information able to be shared? Do the 911 centers know about this? What information do they have access to? In relation to the mental health response teams or 988. It sounds like a great program. It may not be fully applicable in IL.
- Peter Eckart: There are tools that we heard described by some of the MCR providers in IL with one touch technology solution for them to use on site when they are on a call. I can't remember if this was built into a phone app or a separate piece of wearable technology. One of the consequences of coming into this as not cutting edge, we would be an early adopter. One of the benefits of not going first is learning from these systems that have gone before. Virginia has the same capability built into their app. I think what we are starting to see is when a vendor builds tools into their software that seem appealing and valued to other customers, that's going to show up in other places as well. This is the consequence of everyone operating under their own management systems. This seems like a system that is tailor made for the relationship between 988 and MCRT, but how do we tie in 911? That's an important question that we are just going to have to continue to raise.
- Within the centralized AZ system, they are able to pull out important indicators and metrics. They have a set of data around the outcomes.
- What do you see that seems like it might work in IL?
- Brent: The only thing that stands out to me was the 34 years it took to develop this. Us coming along 34 years later, we get to learn from what their challenges were, what worked for them, but we are being asked to this is in such a short amount of time.
- Lee Ann: Two things that really stuck out to me. The first being the centralized dispatch that everyone accesses. That isn't necessarily how we started out conceptualizing our system. There are definitely some advantages to a centralized dispatch that is taking some of the responsibility of the 988 call taker. There is an entirely separate dispatch system. It allows for a slightly different personality. Dispatchers probably have a different approach to what they are doing than the 988 call taker (thinking through the resources and problem solving what is in front of them). It allows direct access from multiple different partners when needed, LE, EMS, etc.
- Bobby Van Bebber: As far as geographical makeup, AZ is actually kind of similar to IL. Large urban areas where the majority of the population resides, then really large rural areas. The way the modeled is something for us to think about as we move forward too.
- Brent: In order to also loop in the 911 PSAPs and LE: first the willingness and ability of funds to get everyone on the same platform/solution. Every PSAP and CAD is a little bit different at each agency. If there is one solution across the state of IL that can be incorporated into the dispatch centers, I think that's a great thing. It's one more piece of software/technology that needs to be incorporated into the day to day of 911 operators. It's a little more involved than saying we have a computer screen at this PSAP with the information. Something where you don't need someone monitoring the second dispatch screen at all times is one of the biggest challenges. It's important to know when/where the teams are. We need to be able to monitor their safety and if they need additional assistance. Also, for the dispatch center to be able to monitor that it is a MCRT.
- Peter: I want to underscore one of the things you said. The heterogeneity of IL providers is one of our challenges as they are all so different. You mentioned briefly some kind of interface with existing systems. I think this is something we can work on.
- Jim: The key point here for us is 1) the dispatch center and the issues they are going to encounter, and 2) what's our role on the call?
- Susan Schaffer: How AZ receives information with dispatch potentially of previous calls or encounters that had a lot more information. Am I correct in that assumption that that's what you said?
- Peter: Yes, an electronic health record allows them to maintain previous health data. There's a couple of really important pieces we should consider, privacy of any personal information and secondarily, we would not necessarily know someone who was or was not inside of that system. There's a couple of really big caveats before we can make assumptions of what that means operationally.
- Susan: We've been working on that on a county level, just talking with providers, and the biggest hurdle is the current IL code. I don't know if VA of AZ only aligned with HIPPA, and that's less restrictive than the IL code. It might mean that it's less restrictive in AZ. Is this transactional, or is there a database that's created statewide? Or do they just read things from dispatch and their propriety software.
- Peter: I do not know the answer to that.
- Brent: I'm going to ask this question just because I'm curious and I think it will be helpful for us as we plan the next meetings. Is there something that's missing from these subcommittee meetings that keeps the interaction and communication limited? Is there something we can change or a different approach we can take to get more interaction out of those of you that are attending?
- Chris Harding: Quad Comm. For hurdles, in my mind everything is so silod that I don't know how to tie it all together. Our MCRTs are a totally different category than 911 since we don't dispatch MCRTs. Every center is a little different. It's a lot of gaps in that. I don't know how to tie that together, but I wholeheartedly echo an interface with our CAD system. I feel like we are asking people to comment on systems that don't exist yet.
- Peter: We can ask about priorities. What are the priorities for you?
- Susan: This is going to be extremely expensive no matter how long it takes. Whether the system is propriety or not.
Next meetings:
The next meeting is scheduled for October 16 at 2:00 pm. This coincides with the in-person October 16 and 17 meetings.
- Brent: My recommendation is to cancel this meeting rather than try to force another subcommittee meeting in.
- I would like to make a motion to cancel our October 16th meeting and reconvene on November 6th with our regularly scheduled subcommittee meeting. Seconded by Lee Ann Reinert.
Votes in favor: Bobby Van Bebber, Jim Kaitschuk, Lee Ann Reinert, Brent Reynolds
This is a majority and passes.
The next meeting will be held November 6th, 2023 at 2:00 pm.
Public Comment:
- Susan Schaffer: Can you refresh me on the face-to-face meeting on the 16th?
- Peter: The face-to-face meeting is for the Statewide Advisory committee spending the morning on visioning, and then the regularly planned WEBex SAC Monthly meeting.
Adjournment:
Meeting adjourned at 2:17 pm, all in favor.