Agenda - 06-05-2001-8p - Laserfiche WebLink

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T ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 5, 2001 Action Age da Item No. SUBJECT: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Medical Director Contract Renewal DEPARTMENT: Emergency Management - PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No EMS ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Contract Nick Waters, ext 3030 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To consider renewing an agreement between Orange County and UNC Hospitals concerning medical direction of Orange County's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program. BACKGROUND: Orange County provides an Advanced Life Support (ALS) EMS service. Under State regulations, a County providing that level of service must function under a Medical Director at the sponsor hospital. The County receives medical direction through UNC Hospitals from Dr. Jane Brice. The Medical Directors responsibilities include providing training, monitoring and protocols for the emergency medical dispatch program at 9-1-1. The Medical Director performs quality assurance reviews and approved telecommunicators for certification. The Medical Director establishes the level of practice for the first responders and the training requirements for them to operate automatic defibrillators. Each first responder must be annually trained and tested in defibrillation. The Medical Director determines the standard of care and appropriate treatment protocols for the paramedics. The Medical Director must provide training, skill proficiency and evaluation of technician performance for the Initial Response Paramedics. The agreement with the Hospital also requires that the Medical Director have an appropriate number of assistant medical directors to assure availability at all times. The Medical Director serves as a consultant for the Paramedics in the field on patient care issues. The Medical Director meets weekly with EMS staff to provide consultation and review of medical issues. In addition to a Medical Director, the Hospital also provides a nurse liaison whose primary functions are to facilitate skill evaluations, special training sessions, technician review with staff training officer, and to assist in writing the required two-year training program for state approval. The Hospital provides computer support for the EMS database, which includes patient medical records, and analytical programs with interpretation of data.