MINUTES OF THE FEDERAL INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (FICEMS) DATE AND TIME: June 6, 2002 10:30 a.m. LOCATION: National Emergency Training Center Room S-113 16825 South Seton Avenue Emmitsburg, MD 21727 MEMBER AGENCY REPRESENTATION: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Mr. Jeff Dyar Acting FICEMS Chairperson United States Fire Administration (USFA) Mr. Lou Bloom United States Fire Administration Ms. Cathy Broughton United States Fire Administration Ms. Susan Hernandez United States Fire Administration Mr. Bill Troup United States Fire Administration Department of Agriculture No Representation Federal Communications Commission No Representation Department of Defense (DOD) No Representation General Services Administration (GSA) Mel Globerman Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Mr. Paul Moore National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Ms. Nancy Romano National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Department of Interior No Representation Department of Transportation (DOT) Captain Art French, M.D. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Department of Veteran Affairs No Representation Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) No Representation Department of Labor No Representation OTHER FEDERAL ATTENDEES: Department of Commerce (DOC) Ms. Lula Lathan National Technical Information Service Ms. Patricia Gresham National Technical Information Service Ms. Jeanette Young Reese National Technical Information Service Department of Justice (DOJ) No Representation OTHER ATTENDEES PRIVATE SECTOR: American Ambulance Association (AAA) Mr. Kurt Krumperman American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Mr. Pete Chambers Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) Mr. David Bradley Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Captain Christine Woodard Mr. Barry Jacobs International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Mr. Jonathan Moore IOCAD Mr. Murrey Loflin National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Mr. Joe Robison Acting FICEMS Chairperson Mr. Jeff Dyar called the meeting to order at 10:35 a.m. in place of the FICEMS Chairperson Mr. Hugh Wood. I. ANNOUNCEMENTS: There were no announcements made. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Acting Chairperson requested approval of the FICEMS meeting minutes for March 7, 2002. The minutes were approved. III. OLD BUSINESS: There was no old business discussed. IV. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS: Ambulance Design Mr. Mel Globerman reported that there was no new action with the Subcommittee. Mr. Globerman handed out the new Triple K specifications, which will be further discussed in the GSA Agency report. Technology Dr. Art French reported that he is still working with Mr. Jeff Rupert, DOJ, but little progress has been made since the last meeting. Dr. French also reported that he wants to make sure that bio-medical equipment is included in the technology subcommittee discussions in addition to AEDs. He has made some contacts and plans to follow up. Counter-Terrorism Mr. Dyar reported that this subcommittee plans to have the kick-off meeting in July. This most likely will be a joint meeting with another subcommittee, the Ambulance Occupant Safety Subcommittee. Ambulance Occupant Safety Ms. Nancy Romano, NIOSH, reported that this subcommittee plans to kick-off in July in association with the Counter-Terrorism Subcommittee. The plan is to meet quarterly after the FICEMS meetings so that interested parties are already together, saving time and travel costs. Ms. Romano handed out a copy of the solicitation for Occupant Restraint Technology (see Attachment I). Next week, NIOSH is meeting with vendors that have shown interest in this issue. Ms. Romano also reported that NIOSH has been working on having crash testing in either August or September, 2002. They have currently been doing investigations with NIST on accidents for what injuries have occurred in the back of the ambulance. So far they have done three reconstructions, and plan on doing one more. They plan to publish the results. V. MEMBER AGENCY REPORTS: NIOSH: Ms. Nancy Romano Ms. Romano reported that in addition to vehicle industry, the aircraft industry was contacted regarding the occupant restraint solicitation. It was asked if Dr. Levitt's research results have been published. Ms. Romano responded that there have been several attempts to get the research results, but there has been no formal publication. It is believed that there is an SAE white paper on the results, which was presented at the SAE Conference. Dr. French suggested contacting Cindy Doyle at HRSA to get the results. Mr. Pete Chambers, ASTM, asked if Ms. Romano had heard anything about the crash testing of military ambulances. Ms. Romano responded that this is still up in the air due to funding issues. DOT: Dr. Art French Dr. French reported that he has been re-assigned with the Coast Guard and will be transferred to Seattle, WA as of July 1. Ms. Susan McHenry will be the new DOT representative at FICEMS meetings. The Coast Guard detail is becoming part of general healthcare, and it does not look like there will be a direct replacement for Dr. French's position. Dr. French also reported on some initiatives that are in place; EMS Education for the Future, as well as patient safety initiatives. Dr. French recently attended the Federal Trauma Partners meetings, which included a diverse group of Federal players. It is not known how this group would interact with FICEMS. GSA: Mr. Mel Globerman Mr. Globerman reported that the Triple K Federal Specifications for ambulances was published on June 1, 2002. An electronic version (.pdf) can be downloaded at www.fsa.gsa.gov/vehicles/buying. Also available will be printed bound documents as well as CD-ROM versions. GSA will be meeting with the President of ASTM regarding ASTM's request to cancel the Triple K specs in lieu of the ASTM standards. Mr. Globerman also reported that the ambulance contract for Federal agencies is expiring. They have prepared the new solicitation which will be available any day now. This will include Type I, II, and III vehicles, as well as other enhancements. One of the enhancements included is restraints, which the D.C. Fire Department has been using with success, especially in the frontal zone. Mr. Globerman reported that GSA will be attending the Emergency Vehicle Safety Conference in Dulles, VA. USFA: Mr. Bill Troup, Mr. Jeff Dyar, Mr. Lou Bloom, Ms. Susan Hernandez Mr. Troup reported that the new version of the Guide to Management and Emergency Services Infection Control Program has been published. Mr. Troup also reported that this will be a joint effort for Fire Emergency Vehicle Safety with USFA and DOT/ITS. There is a meeting coming up on ways to stop the 25% loss of life. Mr. Dyar reported that there are several training programs in place, including a six week advanced safety operations course, and a two week injury prevention and healthcare in the community course. Mr. Dyar also reported that there was a four day conference to capture the responses to the World Trade Center and other September 11 responses. Ms. Hernandez reported that beginning next week, there will be the first of ten regional terrorism summits which will continue through March 2003. There will be a new stamp honoring Fire EMS. There will be an unveiling at the Fallen Firefighter Memorial, and the stamp will picture the raising of the flag at the WTC. Mr. Lou Bloom reported that there will be web-based version of the injury prevention and healthcare course available August 1, 2002. The target audience is physicians and preventative medicine professionals. Mr. Dyar also reported that USFA has counter-terrorism training programs which are being reevaluated. There will be a regional conference that will help redirect the services. They have been working with DOD to use the USFA materials. They would like to focus more on what to provide for first responders and how to strengthen the current training. There is currently $350M worth of fire grants. The last panel met and is proposing for $900M for the next year. There are still processing getting notification to interested parties. USFA is supporting state training offices for any EMS training with a $40K grant. The Office of National Preparedness of FEMA is evaluating Federal training for counter-terrorism, and has recommended that all training and funding come from one office, with FEMA being the lead office. Mr. Pete Chambers, ASTM, asked if there was anyone who has decided who the experts are on counter-terrorism. Mr. Dyar responded that there is no clear answer. VI. REPORTS-OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES: Congressional Fire Services Institute: Mr. David Bradley No report. National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC): Mr. Joe Robison Mr. Robison reported that the next NVFC meeting will be in Alaska. On June 19-15, 2002, there will be the Maryland State Fireman's Association Convention and Conference in Ocean City, MD. This is a free event and all are invited to attend. There will be many vendors and seminars for the EMS industry. IOCAD: Mr. Murrey Loflin No report. International Association of Fire Fighters: Mr. Jonathan Moore Mr. Moore reported that the IAFF is taking part in bi-weekly conference calls discussing the Medicare/Medicaid fee schedule, and CMS has been able to identify the glitches. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue: Captain Christine Woodard, Mr. Barry Jacobs Mr. Jacobs reported that the Northern VA incident command training course provides training on how to get from a two-alarm size event to a Pentagon size event. The COG region next initiative is a tiered response for mass casualties, and setting standards for the whole region. Currently Montgomery County has already put this into place. The Alexandria Court House is dealing with the trials of the terrorists. GWU is hosting a talk with NY Battalion Chief on June 12, 2002. The new medical director is Scott Weir, who will be starting on July 1, 2002. He is from Connecticut. Capt. Woodard reported that she attended the Pentagon mass casualty event. Many of the same mistakes were made in the EMS section as were at the Fairfax event in the fall, especially in patient care. Although there was triage set up, it was difficult to distinguish which section was which. ASTM: Mr. Pete Chambers Mr. Chambers reported that ASTM has published their version of the Triple K and that many issues are the same. This document is an on-going document, and ASTM welcomes participation. Mr. Chambers also reported that ASTM is involved in a subcommittee on immobilization devices. The purpose of the committee is to make standards for these devices. The technology is moving in the right direction, it just needs to be quantified. ASTM is also working on restraint systems. Currently, the devices are expensive which makes it hard for the EMS community to get them. There is also a committee, the F30 committee, which hopes to provide a seamless integration between flight and ground. Many of the standards are the same. NTIS: Ms. Lu Lathan Ms. Lathan reported that the primary objective of NTIS is to support and to be a primary source for scientific technology. VII. NEW BUSINESS: Mr. Dyar reported that since the subcommittees are becoming more active that dovetailing the meetings with the FICEMS meeting, either before or after, is a good idea. The NATEK contract has been renewed, and includes an EMS specialist, Mr. Bruce Cheeseman. Dr. French would like to get more DOD involvement, especially with Ft. Detrick around the corner, as well as Federal Fire Departments. Mr. Troup responded that in the past he kept inviting members from each individual military branch. VIII. NEXT MEETING: Date and Time: September 5, 2002, 10:30 a.m. Location: USFA, Emmitsburg, MD Building/Room Number TBD IX. ADJOURNMENT: With no further comments, Acting Chairperson Dyar adjourned the meeting at 11:55 p.m. FICEMS Meeting Minutes June 6, 2002 FICEMS Meeting Minutes June 6, 2002 - 8 - - 9 - - 1 -