WASHINGTON STATE SOCIETY
FOR HEALTHCARE ENGINEERING

EASTERN CHAPTER
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
MARCH 3, 2006

MINUTES

Present:
Don Fulton, Norm McLarin, Philip Kercher, Chad Beebe DOH/CRS, Bill Kinzel, John Rivard, John Smith, Brian Cramer, Ron Ehrlacher, Mike Kelly/WSSHE president, Doug Sowers, Tim Heidlebaugh, Chris Pashen, Harry Eskridge, John Durels, Ray Garner, Mark Overby, Doug Erickson, Bruce Price and Bill Oeder.

Host: Don Fulton at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, Yakima
President: Don Fulton, YVMH, Yakima
President-Elect: Norm McLarin, Holy Family Hospital, Spokane
Secretary Treasurer: Randy Kaiser, Kittitas Valley Community Hospital, Ellensburg (excused absence). Philip Kercher, recording secretary.

Call to Order:
President Don Fulton called the meeting to order at 1010 with 20-members present.

Approval of Minutes:
Minutes of the December 2, 2005 meeting at Kadlec Medical Center, Richland, WA were approved as distributed.

Treasurers Report:
The treasurer’s report was deferred. However, in December, it was reported that there was $7,751.15 in the money market account.

Old Business:
1) Advocacy: Phil encouraged all to be actively involved in advocacy efforts whether at a local, state or national level. These activities also receive points under ASHE’s Chapter Recognition Program. The current major activity is the WSSHE committee working with the DOH/Construction Review Services advising on the adoption of the Guidelines for Health Care Construction. The Guidelines will replace the WAC’s related to new hospital construction. Mike Kelly, Tim Heidlebaugh and Phil Kercher, along with about 17-others, are committee members. Please send any comments you have to them. See Chad’s report below.

2) WSSHE Scholarship Program: WSSHE awarded 5-scholarships in the amount of $750 in 2005. Please utilize this wonderful financial resource for you or your staff when considering educational programs each year. Submission date is July 30. 2006.

3) WSSHE Newsline Articles: The quarterly Newsline, available on the website, depends on articles submitted by members. Bob Baker, Kennewick General, is scheduled in the 1st quarter. Paul Scott 2nd quarter Lourdes, Kristyn Clayton 3rd quarter Kadlec Medical Center and John Rivard 4th quarter CH2O.

Schedule of Meetings:
Bruce Price, Walla Walla General June 2
Bob Baker, Kennewick General September 1
Dale Oakley, Kadlec December 1

New Business:
1) Training Program: The annual June 7, 2006 one-day, technical training program was discussed. Ray Garner of Proctor Sales volunteered to coordinate a steam system program to include a demonstration steam system with working components. The demo requires 220-volt, single-phase power, which will need to be coordinated with the host hotel, the Hallmark Inn in Moses Lake. Tim Heidlebaugh will coordinate the logistical arrangements for 30-persons from 1000-1400 on June 7, 2006 with lunch provided. The Eastern Chapter covers all costs. More details in a future email and discussion at the next chapter meeting on June 2.
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2) Semi-annual Conference: Mike Kelly discussed the upcoming April 26-28, 2006 conference in Chelan on emergency management, titled, “Preparing Health Care Facilities for the Katrina of the Pacific Northwest.” A national level team of speakers will present, including the security manager from a New Orleans hospital that went through the hurricane and its aftermath of extremely challenging situations. All are strongly encouraged to attend and to invite safety officers, risk managers and infection controls specialists to join us. See www.wsshe.org for program information and registration form. Please sign up now!
 
3) Membership: Please note the following from the December Meeting: At that meeting, Dale discussed and proposed a Vouchers incentive to increase and encourage new membership. Dale proposed that a set amount be budgeted in the Eastern chapter funds to pay the annual membership fee to encourage someone who is not a member to join and attend meetings. A motion was made and approved to set 250.00 for the year of 2006. Members will contact the 2006 Eastern Chapter president with names of persons they would like to request this membership incentive for.
 
4) ASHE Programs: Phil encouraged all to become members in ASHE, our national affiliate under the American Hospital Association. WSSHE membership currently is comprised of over 30% of its members also in ASHE. Benefits include email notices of important issues, a very active advocacy program that saves all of us significant costs, and diversified educational programs, including the PDC conference this week and the Annual Conference scheduled for July 9-12, 2006 in Boston, MA. A recent email sent to all members described the Certified Healthcare Facility Manager (CHFM) program, which includes 11-WSSHE members in Washington at this time. Finally, the Actions for Professional Excellence (APEx) program is available for those ASHE members seeking a higher level of membership as a Senior or Fellow. Please visit ASHE’s website, www.ashe.org or contact Phil for additional information.

5) Chapter Bylaws: The state bylaws were amended in January related to full and associate member descriptions. The language was taken from the ASHE bylaws. During the February State Board Meeting in Ellensburg, the board reviewed the new descriptions and determined that Stephen Grose, CHFM, proposed State president-elect from Puget Sound Chapter, was eligible to serve as a Board officer since he was employed in a hospital and had all the responsibilities of a facility manager. Regarding our chapter, Phil recommended the Eastern Chapter bylaws be amended to match the language used in the State bylaws. This same recommendation is being made at the other two chapters so that we are consistent. Phil noted this is not a functional change for the Eastern chapter since our descriptions essentially matched the ASHE descriptions. Phil will propose this amendment to the Eastern Bylaws in an email notice to members. The amendment will be voted on at the June meeting by members present and subject to ratification by two-thirds of the chapter’s members.

6) DOH/CRS Update on Guidelines Adoption: Chad Beebe made a brief PowerPoint presentation on the adoption of the 2006 Guidelines for the Construction of Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities. The Guidelines will replace the WAC’s related to new construction only. See the DOH website for more details. Three key meetings, structured much like the NFPA code-drafting process, will be held. You are strongly encouraged to attend the 3-meetings to support a unified WSSHE voice on these issues. Public meetings will be held near SeaTac for your convenience on March 21 (to review existing proposals), June 21 (second opportunity to submit proposals) and December 5 (public rules hearing process). Chad and John Williams, also at CRS, Olympia, are available for questions and comments. The website has a proposal form that can be downloaded from the site.

7) Questions from Chuck: Your chance to ask questions of each other, humorously named after Chuck Riffle, past facility manager for over 40-years at Newport Community Hospital, who always had a good question to ask of his peers. Regarding a fire/smoke damper that is inaccessible for inspection, as required by JCAHO standards, it was recommended to identify this damper on the Part 4 Short Form of the JCAHO Statement of Construction and note your intent to inspect it fully as soon as construction activities or a change in access should occur. Regarding the electronic SOC that will be required by JCAHO in January 2007, it was suggested to wait January 2007 for submission and not pursue it this year as an option. Regarding the SOC, it was noted to only show items in the Plan for Improvement that are deficiencies in the 2000 Life Safety Code. Do not include ongoing fire safety activities, for instance, that are in fact not a deficiency. This is not the place to note a summary of your projects.

Educational Program:
John Rivard, CH2O, presented an excellent PowerPoint summary on the risks and possible solutions associated with Legionella and waterborne infection control issues. If you would like more information, please contact John at jrivard@ch2o.com. John can also assist you in accessing CH2O’s website for copies of their suggested policy and other helpful program information.

Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 12:30, following lunch provided by Don Fulton from his tasty and attractive hospital cafeteria. Ron Urlacher provided a tour of the facility to interested attendees.