North Blanco County Emergency Services District No. 1 (ESD1) held their monthly meeting on March 17th at the EMS Building in Johnson City. President David O’Bannon called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm, and there were no Citizen Comments.
O’Bannon said that the VFIS P&C insurance policy is up for renewal including updated coverage of the recycling center. Blanco County EMS Chief Ben Oakley will handle the paperwork for the recycling center. O’Bannon reminded everyone that 990’s are due soon.
There was discussion of the updated Investment Policy which was approved following motion from Commissioners Doug Fowler and Brandt Raeburn. Action for investment in Tex Pool and review of the Audit Report were tabled.
Service Provider Reports
Ray Bible, President of Johnson City VFD, reported that during February there were 32 calls with 154 responders and average response time of 7.75. Bible said that MVA volume is still high.
“Our Ladder truck is ready for pickup. All was serviced and certified, and we will take care of the lights and bulb replacements,” said Bible.
Everyone agreed that although expensive to maintain, the JCVFD Ladder truck is an important asset to the county.
The February JCVFD draw request was for $6,525.46 which included costs for utilities, maintenance, and insurance. Funding was approved following motion from Raeburn and Fowler and carried.
Round Mountain VFD President Bill Burden reported 13 calls for February which were mostly fire related, and response time of 9.3 which is five minutes lower than a year ago thanks to the department Command truck.
Burden reported on training which included SCBA prep work for the Live Fire Academy. Burden thanked the ESD for its investment in the Live Fire Academy which was 5 days of extremely intensive training.
“Medical training included the Lucas device for defib for compressions and whole blood. Our draw request is $28,871.92 which included a lot of heavy-duty vehicle maintenance, a recruiting event, and insurance,” Burden said.
Raeburn and Fowler motioned for approval of the draw request which carried.
Blanco County EMS Chief Ben Oakley asked for a moment of silence in observance of the passing of Alyce Megna, widow of Mike Megna. “Alyce was an astronomical part of RMVFD,” Oakley said.
Oakley gave the February County Health Paramedicine (CHP) report for Coordinator Wesley Patton who was out on call. During February CHP had 18 referrals, 35 active patients, and 105 responses.
Oakley said, “February was a very slow month for the EMS with 71 calls. Response time was 9.30, transport rate was 43%, and relative high acuity at 35%. There were no major fleet issues.”
“Travis Hayes has completed his paramedic exam and is now a Texas Paramedic and is in the field training process.”
“The Lucas device which provides automated chest compressions on patients needing CPR has already been deployed 3 times in a short space of time and we have administered whole blood twice since the whole blood program began last month,” said Oakley.
Oakley said that department personnel are currently completing ventilator training, and when the training is complete all county EMS units will contain a ventilator which will greatly improve patient outcomes. Ultrasound training for portable ultrasound units is next.
Reports
ESD1 Commissioners reviewed the minutes of previous meetings and the Treasurer’s Report. These were approved by motion from Raeburn and Fowler.
Commissioners approved payment of the monthly bills for $391.35 following motion from Raeburn and Commissioner Kay Odiorne. The meeting adjourned at 7:43 pm, and the next ESD1 meeting is scheduled for April 21.
