WASHINGTON STATE SOCIETY
FOR HEALTHCARE ENGINEERING

EASTERN CHAPTER
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
SACRED HEART MEDICAL CENTER, SPOKANE, WA
December 5, 2008

MINUTES

Present:
Philip Kercher, Susan Dellivo, Don Kilgore, Greg Palmanteer, Brad Jones, Doug Sower, Jim Miller, Ray Garner, Cliff Rogers Tim Ice, Mike Kelly, Ed Luebben, Alyson McLean, Bruce Price, Will Mckin, Ron Darling, Dave Franklund

President: Doug Sowers
President Elect:
Sec/Treasurer: Randy Kaiser

Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order at 10:20 by Doug Sowers.

Approval of Minutes:
The Minutes from the June 6th meeting were approved

Secretary /Treasure Report:
Randy Kaiser gave members a report of the current balance in the business account

Newsline:
Doug encouraged members to write articles for the 2009 Newsline.  Doug Sowers will take 1st quarter; Susan Dillvo 2nd, Jim Miller 3rd, and Greg Palmanter 4th.

Advocacy:
Phil spoke to members about advocacy efforts by WSSHE. The transition for the State Fire Marshall office providing compliance inspections in lieu of DOH and helping with that transition.

Scholarship:
Doug encouraged members to use the WSSHE scholarship 5 scholarships at $750.00 are available. Applications can be found on WSSHE website.

ASHE News, membership:
Phil addressed the members about the States Gold status and the desire to achieve Platinum. The WSSHE meets all of the criteria accept ASHE membership 50% of our members. Currently, the state level is at 37%.

Board Report:
Brad Jones gave members an update on state board activity. Brad explained the contract service which we have with AMI. Brad also spoke about the recommendation by AMI and the need for the state board to have a contingency found of 20-40K.

Semi Annual:
Doug addressed the Semi Annual Conference at Lake Chelan, April 29th - May1st  on Reliable Utility Systems.

June Staff Training:
Doug spoke to members about the annual Moses Lake June Staff training. A date of June was selected along with topics and possible speakers. June 19.

Meeting Locations 2009:
Members were asked if anyone would like to host the 2009 quarterly meetings.
March 6: Samaritan Healthcare, Moses Lake
June 5: Valley Medical, Spokane
September 11: Kittitas Valley community Hospital, Ellensburg
December 4: Holy Family, Spokane

Temporary Board Position:
A need to fill a state board position until the Eastern Chapter has filled the 2010 Chapter president position will be filled by Philip Kercher. The President position will be filled at the March 6th chapter meeting.

Questions from Chuck:
Don Kilgore Asked if any members present knew what the initials ETL stands for. The question was brought up due to some space heaters being used and in lieu of UL underwriters’ laboratories it had the ETL. No one present could answer the questions.

Follow up: From Tom Anselmo, Safety and health Consultant, LNI. ETL (Interteck) is viewed by OSHA as a recognized testing lab in North America. They are part of a list of NRTL (Nationally Recognized Testing Lab) that, though an OSHA search, will lead you to a different site that shows all recognized labs in the country. Incidentally, ETL has now changed their certification to Intertek Testing Service NA (ITSNA). In our Core Rules, 296-800-28005, it states that we would accept equipment approved or listed from a recognized testing lab. Their approval would be okay as long as the equipment is approved by hospital standards

Education Topic/Speaker:
Cliff Rogers State Fire Marshal Northeast region spoke to members about the inspection process and addressed some of the more frequent citations found during life safety surveys. Cliff addressed fire doors closing and latching, roller latches can not be used. Patient care areas that have had a change of use in some of the rooms by converting to offices etc. not having door closures and latching hardware. The use of extension cords as a means of permanent wiring for devices. Corridor obstructions such as Food carts housekeeping carts. Carts are allowed if they are being worked off of less than every 30 minutes. Corridors being used as waiting areas or equipment storage is not allowed .Hand sanitizers have been an issue. The rule they go by is 6”clearance side to side of switches and receptacles. Sanitizers cannot be mounted above any switch or receptacles. Portable heaters in spaces must be UL rated minimum of 3’ clearance from combustibles.


NEXT MEETING:
March 6: Samaritan Healthcare, Moses Lake

Meeting Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned