CESSA - Region 4 Committee Meeting Approved Minutes 07/18/2023

Community Emergency Services and Support Act (CESSA) Region 4 Advisory Committee

Meeting Minutes- Tuesday, July 18, 2023 - 10:00-11:30 via Zoom

Meeting Minutes - Approved by Members 01/16/2024

  • Welcome and Call to Order
    • Meeting called to order by Julie Brugger at 10:00
    • Approval of Minutes for both the May & June meetings were unable to be approved as not enough Members attending to form quorum.
    • Members Present: Deborah Humphrey, Brittany Pinon-Becker, Randy Randolph; attended via Zoom. Cindy Wagner attended by phone.
  • Absent: Jeff Shafer, Kelly Ann Jefferson, James Hengehold, Dave Fellows, Amy Foster, Megan Black, Andrew Stein, Layla Simons, Timothy McClain, Dennis Perez, Steven Johnson and Joe Harper
    • Julie Brugger reviewed procedures around the Open Meetings Act.
  • State Updates- none to update
  • Progress on developing RAC recommendations for the Interim Risk Level Matrix
  • Regional Updates
    • Julie: so glad to have Jane here in replacement of Dana after his retirement. Once again, we don't have a quorum. What we're going to look at is who do we want on the committee? What changes need to happen so that we can begin to move forward? For the third time in a row, we're having basically the same meeting. I think we need to develop some new committee members. The way that the state does that is they go through a type of vetting process, where you are asked to respond to specific questions in order for them to understand why we wanted to be part of this. The idea basically behind that is to see if a potential member is willing to set aside time to do this every month? We have a lot of people on our list who haven't attended any meetings so far or who have only come to one or two, so I'm wanting to get your opinions on this. I know that at least a couple of people have responded and are here today as members of the public. We will need to the required paperwork through the State to get them assigned to be part of the committee. I know there's somebody from Touchette who has volunteered to do this. I know that the state has sent out questionnaires as well. I suggested the last time the members of our co-responder models that are new, one is in Alton and the other in East Saint Louis, both of those places within our region. I think that having their points of view will be very important as well. I know that we mentioned last time that we really need more EMS medical directors or coordinators from that system, to represent their viewpoint and concerns and any other things of that nature> We just want to make sure that we're looking at this from all sides and making this work in the very best way possible for the members of our community.
  • Committee Comments
    • Cindy: Whose responsibility might that be to reach out to these individual people? If to make one more final check to see if those at one on the committee may still be interested in this position? To reach them and lay out the problem we are having.
    • Julie: I'm happy to do that. I've got contact information for all the people who have already been added to our committee whether or not that contact information remains the right information. I can absolutely reach out to the members of the committee who have not shown up, or who have only shown up sporadically throughout our times together, to just ask exactly that question. I think that also I need information on who are the EMS medical directors and how can I reach out to them? And as the state is asking us for another year of doing this, then that's really a commitment we're asking for. I'm happy to reach out to the current committee members as well as reaching out to the state to ask them to approve additional committee members or replacement committee.
    • Deborah: I was thinking the same thing, of first making that contact and verifying, who can be a part of this and will make the commitment to be on the calls? It may be a smaller group, but for us to pass votes on agendas and items it could be a smaller group with that representation that needs to be there, of individuals that can make that commitment to be on the call. You may have 25 people on your list, but there could be a smaller group of 10 that more function as an executive kind of decision making, moving the process along so that we're not held for three meetings to get approval for the last two months of our meeting minutes. The other piece of it is identifying who is key? If you were to work with a smaller group, you still want those key groups that need to be represented. It is important that we have at least one representative from that group, whoever that might be, that can kind of be the lead for that group. Again, that's not to say others are excluded if they can make the commitment, but we at least need one committed person representing EMS or one of the provider networks. Joe has been very good at being here. These months you do have to take into consideration vacations and things of that nature. We just don't want to have people signing up with the state and growing a large list of people that aren't going to be there.
    • Brittany: possibly composing a draft of what this committed entails, some guidelines.
    • Deborah: I think would certainly serve us well under the circumstances that we're not getting that level of participation that we need.
    • Julie: I will reach out to our UIC crisis hub liaison as well to see what all has been developed because we are definitely not the only region who's experiencing this. One of the things that I've recognized by attending those statewide advisory committee meetings is that each of us from the different regions has or will present to the state on you know where we are in this process.
    • Deborah-I just want to thank you for your leadership, Julie, and polling every meeting being so prepared and Tina also for keeping us aware of all the meetings and everything. Thanks for all you guys do.
    • Julie: Thank you Deb.
  • Next Meeting Date: August 16, 2023
  • Public Comment
    • Jane: I look forward to getting something from you Julie. If the committee would want me to join and I think I saw in the notes that Adam from Hoyleton was also willing to serve as a committee member; this would make two additional members if we fit the criteria, we'll be here.
    • Julie: Thank you. I will follow up with the state again about making sure that everybody gets those questionnaires or whatever it is that they need in order to appoint new committee members. Also, I will get with our old committee members and see what's going to help them join us or if they've got ideas on who could replace them. I will get the Risk Level Matrix and our concerns that we sent to the state along with that flyer that Deb sent me today to everybody. Thanks to all of you for your time and your commitment to this. Thanks for your willingness to participate and your willingness to be vocal in this process, because I really do think that finding the right solutions takes all of our voices together. The more that we can inform the processes, the better the processes will turn out. So thank you all so much and have a great rest of your day and of your week.
  • Adjournment
    • Not enough Members present to form quorum, no vote to adjourn