BC 1994 03 21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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69 Mr. Larry Justice briefly discussed the responsibilities of Lost Time Control of Concord which will serve as the County's claims agent for Worker's Compensation. UPON MOTION of Chairman Barnhart, seconded by Commissioner Fennel and unanimously carried, the Board agreed to go with the plan for Cabarrus County to self-fund Worker's Compensation as presented by Mr. Bennett and to leave the Liability/Auto/Property coverage with the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners Pool as it is today. UPON MOTION of Commissioner Payne, seconded by Commissioner Fennel and unanimously carried, the Board approved the Claims Administration Service Contract with Lost Time Control, subject to review by the County Attorney, and authorized the County Manager to execute the contract for services for the next year effective July 1, 1994. NEW BUSINESS Concord-Cabarrus County Chamber of Commerce Governmental Affairs Committee - Mr. Bob Landers Mr. Bob Landers, Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee of the Concord-Cabarrus County Chamber of Commerce, explained that the purpose of the Committee is to facilitate and provide for any type of communications between Chamber membership and local elected officials. He expressed the willingness of the Chamber members to assist the Board whenever possible, specifically in the long-range planning activities for Cabarrus County. EMS Study Council Report and Recommendation Mr. Aubrey Attkisson, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Director, introduced the members of the EMS Study Council. The Study Council was established in 1993 to review EMS services and the method of delivery, and make recommendations on how they might be improved or modified to best meet the needs of the citizens of Cabarrus County. Ms. Rebecca Yarbroughof the Centralina Council of Governments, Dr. Harold Miller, EMS Medical Director; and Mr. Guy Hutchins, Chairman of the Study Council reviewed the findings and recommendations of the Study Council. Ms. Yarbrough explained that the Study Council had based its findings and recommendations on the national standards of being able to provide response within eight (8) minutes or less for 90 percent of the time for emergency calls. Findings of the Study Council were summarized as follows: (1) (2) (3) (4) An EMS system that is excellent in many ways, including enhanced 911 to speed access to the EMS System; telecommunicators trained to screen calls and provide pre- arrival instructions, including CPR; excellent support from trained first responders; EMS personnel trained to the highest level permitted in the State; and generally good equipment to work with. Despite strengths, the system is challenged in many ways. The emergency call volume has increased 42 percent in the last two years. Cabarrus EMS units participate in "move-ups" anywhere from 140 to 350 times per month. Response times indicate that the system may be failing to achieve its desired outcomes, because in many cases, personnel may not be getting to the patient in time to make a difference. Average response times (time from dispatch of a unit to its arrival on the scene) appear good--7.8 minutes on the average for emergency calls in 1993. However, approximately 30 percent of all calls have response time greater than 8 minutes with a significant number of calls having a response time of 11 minutes or more. The calls with the longest response times are in outlying areas, with Midland's calls routinely running in the 15- minute-plus range. However, the greatest concentration of calls over 8 minutes is in Kannapolis and Concord. This indicates that distance alone is not the problem.