ESP News - April 2005
Monday's Quarterly Meeting was lively and well attended – at 5.20pm members were still lingering to talk and eat the cookies provided by Home Attendant Care.
Roger Christensen of Whatcom Medic 1 spoke and answered questions about changes coming to the 911 response to a medical aid call. Among the things we learned are the following – although Roger did say that the plans
keep changing as negotiations go forward with City and County.
Last year Whatcom Medic 1 had over 12,000 patient contacts, while Cascade Ambulance did 5,000 non-emergency patient transports. The emergency service is 55% funded by user fees, and 66% of these come from Medicare
and Medicaid. The other 45% of the funding is from City and County.
The service is adopting a triage system used in many parts of the world. The 911 dispatcher who takes the call will ask if the call is initiated by a doctor or nurse – if so, an Advanced Life Support (ALS) Team of
paramedics will be dispatched. If not, the dispatcher will ask more questions in order to determine the severity of the medical problem, and will send either the ALS or a Basic Life Support (BLS) Team, consisting of
trained fire dept EMT's.
Q: How much medical training do the EMT's have?
A: The ALS technicians have 2,400 hrs training plus clinical time. The BLS have had 140 hrs training.
Q: Why do you send a fire engine, if there is no fire?
A: We send the closest team of three in their vehicle – that's their toolbox! However in future some teams will be able to choose between the fire truck and an ambulance.
Q: What does the 911 service actually cost?
A: In 1993 the cost was ~$380 per call; in 2003 over $540 per call.
Q: What do you think of the new POLST form (replaces Do Not Resuscitate form) – and do your crews look at it?
A: The crew would typically begin life support while the paperwork is found – we always err on the
side of maintaining life. If the person were already dead, we would use the POLST form to decide whether resuscitation is appropriate.
Announcements from ESP members
The Alzheimer Society of Washington Spring Workshop "Wrapping the Person with Dementia in a Circle of Care" is on Friday April 22nd, 2005 8:00 – 4:30. Keynote Speaker is David Troxel, author of Best Friends
Approach to Alzheimer's Care, and there will also be presentations by Tedd Judd, Neuropsychologist; Barry Meyers, Elder Law Attorney; Gwendolyn de Geest, Creator of the Circle of Care Concept. Register by
phone at 360-671-3316 or 800-493-3959.
St Joseph Hospital Adult Day Health presents a free lecture for family and professional caregivers: "When You Suspect Memory Problems … a physician's perspective" Thursday May 5th, 2005 3:30-5:30pm at 809
E. Chestnut, Bellingham. RSVP appreciated by May 2nd ~ 715-6410.
Visiting Nurse Personal Services is now offering the new meningitis vaccine Menactra. It can be used to protect people above 11 years old and can last up to 10 years. Clinic hours are Tues and Thurs 11- 12. Call
the Bellingham office at 734-9662 or the Mt Vernon office at 336-9693 for more information. VNPS is a United Way partner agency. Participating businesses and their employees can designate monthly
donations to help support Respite Care (relief for unpaid caregivers) and nursing care for high-risk individuals.
Lisa Schork of LTC Capstone offers Group Long Term Care Insurance . Take advantage of the tax benefits and employee retention by offering your employees a way of funding their own LTC needs. For a quote for
groups (2-150) call Lisa today at 360-715-8582.
Lori Nichols of Hinet and Pursuing Perfection reminds us that the Shared Care Plan is now available to all Whatcom County residents. This is a concise wallet-size summary of critical health information. Contact
Lori for materials or a presentation about creating a Shared Care Plan for yourself, or those you care for: 360-305-2507 or lnichols@hinet.org.
From Cris Colburn at Whatcom Transportation Authority :
WTA's Strategic Plan was finalized last December and service implementation is slated to begin mid-July. Open Houses about new service are planned for June, including one focused toward social and health
providers. Info available at www.ridewta.com or 360-715-4511 and more will be publicized in June-July.
From Turtle Robb at Bellingham Senior Activity Center:
BSAC Center Manager position will be open soon, as Michael Spinale is retiring June 30th. Contact Rob Bunnett 733-4030 rbunnett@wccoa.org. And drop by the Senior Center to pick up a copy of their new
cookbook for $10 – it's full of great recipes!
Last but not least, Paula Brady is looking for people to join her on the 2006 ESP Caregiver Conference Committee. Please contact Paula at Fairhaven Estates 647-1254 or fairhavenestates@emeritus.com.
If you have events or announcements of vacancies – please send them in for inclusion in the next Newsletter – let's keep in touch!
Our next meeting will be the Annual ESP Meeting and picnic on July 11th at Squalicum Boathouse. Please mark your calendar! Details will follow by mail and email.
Lesley Rigg, ESP Secretary, riggla@dshs.wa.gov or 360-738-2500.
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