Toggenburg Ski Patrol
General Membership Meeting – November 7, 2009
Present: John Bellardini, Chuck Bertuch, Beau Blair, Moira Blair, Tim Bolan, Henry Brisman, Tom Buckley, Tom Campbell, Craig Collins, George Davenport, Geff Dennee, Kurt Dobler, Theo Gilmore, Bill Goode, Sue Hadzor, Cindy Hoalcraft, John Irwin, Jeff Lamarche, Paul Martellock, Chris Myers, Jim Morrison, Bob Parry, Rich Pietrafesa, Phil Resch, Carter Riley, Ann Ryan, Jim Shaw, Walt Shepard, Kris (Redmond) Smith, Paul Steiner, Lida Suchy, Dave Tiedemann, Evelyn Tordoff, Brian Wengert
Candidates: Peter Scaffido
Fall OEC Refresher
· We had another great fall refresher. Geff Dennee expressed his thanks to our participating instructors who made it all possible.
· Special thanks to Brian Wengert for taking on the job of Instructor of Record and spearheading our efforts.
· Brian thanked all the instructors who participated for all their hard work.
New Patrollers
· Geff Dennee introduced two of our new patrollers. They are Jeff Lamarche and Lida Suchy. Bob Hugh is recovering from surgery and could not be present. The three are starting their rookie year and will be assigned “Mentors” upon finalization of the 2009 – 2010 schedule.
· Eric Schicho and Tom Shaw who also became full patrollers last season are away at college. We hope to see them skiing with us during school breaks.
Medical Associate Presentation
Lida Suchy has agreed to coordinate our MA presentation program this year which includes establishing the topics and dates and equipment procurement.
Best Performances by OEC Instructors (from our spring GMM Meeting)
Walt Shepard announced that the TSP Oscar for “Best Performance by an OEC Instructor” went to Evelyn Tordoff for her role as a severely distressed asthmatic patient. The awards were presented at the spring meeting but Evelyn was unable to attend.
Fall OEC Candidates
· Geff introduces Peter Scaffido who is currently participating in this fall’s CNY OEC course.
· Jim Dolan is also participating in the fall OEC course.
S & T Candidates
We are not sure how many S&T candidates we will have but it looks like between 4 and 6.
Blood and Air Borne Pathogens Training & CPR / AED Refresher
· Starting the day at ~8:00am, thirty one (31) patrollers participated in the OSHA required training in blood borne and air borne pathogens. Beau Blair did an excellent job in putting together and presenting the training.
· Thirty one patrollers completed their annual CPR/AED refresher training in the American Heart Association’s Healthcare Provider CPR. Beau Blair did another excellent job in putting together and presenting the training. He was ably assisted by John Bellardini, Moira Blair, Henry Brisman, Evelyn Tordoff, and Walt Shepard.
Patient Refusal Form
· Beau Blair introduced patrollers to the new “Patient Refusal Form”, which is based on the CNY EMS Patient Refusal Form. The form will be available for use by patrollers this season and will provide a greater level of liability protection.
· Beau emphasized that this is a work in progress and the final form will be TSP specific.
· The first page of the new form will be filled in and attached to our current incident form when there is a refusal by an IP, or parent/guardian of an IP, of the next level of treatment.
· The second sheet is a double sided list of instructions on dealing with signs & symptoms of various injuries and ailments which is to be given to the IP.
· There was much discussion about the form. The vast majority of commenters where strongly in favor of implementation.
Schedule
· Jim Morrison review the changes to the scheduling policy which include:
ü Recommended shift coverage
ü Snowmobile event coverage & dates
ü Dates for Christmas holidays , ML King day, and February school vacation
· Jim said that the recommended shift coverage requires a total of 45.5 patrollers and we have 48.
· Please review the schedule and determine where you will best fit in.
Comments from Jim Hickey
· Jim welcomed back all patrollers.
· He discussed the changes taking place which include:
ü New floor in the kitchen
ü New enlarged pickup window for restaurant workers
ü Installation (in progress) of a 5th pump for snowmaking. He’s hoping it will be ready for the coming season. This week they will be setting the pump and pouring concrete.
ü Purchased 24 additional snow making machines. Twelve units are on the main hill and the other 12 are skid mounted and can be moved throughout the area.
ü The additional snow guns and the fifth pump will allow them to make snow on 4 trails simultaneously.
ü The T-bar rehabilitation is targeted for next season. The required parts have been identified and located but funding is not available due to the other facility improvements and the purchase of the additional snow making equipment which became available unexpectedly from the former Tupper Lake ski area.
ü Goat will be widened (to the south) and measured for certification for racing.
ü This year will be hosting the NYS competition.
ü The Foggy Goggle will open next Friday and Saturday and will operate on weekends until the season opens with the exception of Thanksgiving and the first weekend in December when it will be closed on the Saturday for a private party.
ü On the issue of helmets, the ski areas of New York would love to see helmets on everyone but do not want it to be mandated.
ü On out of bounds skiing, Jim feels it is impossible to control and fencing the entire area is not feasible.
ü On the issue of sick kids, patrol should contact parents, if the parents refuse contact the office and they will call. Jim agrees that patrol is not a babysitting service.
ü On the mogul hills, plans include grooming a path down the side.
ü A lot of work has been done on the chairlifts and the NY State inspector is very pleased. Weight testing of the chairlifts is to be scheduled next year.
Patroller and COH Responsibilities
· Geff Dennee reviewed the revisions to the COH and Patroller responsibilities.
· The revisions include:
ü Patrollers to participate in race coverage as requested by COH.
ü COH to set up race coverage schedule for his/her shift.
ü COH to report to the Patrol Director all patroller related incidents and injuries and equipment related incidents (i.e. snowmobile, toboggans, etc.)
ü During sweep move any closed trail signs, barrier tapes, and other temporary markers, from the trails so that the hill can be groomed without the signs being in the way.
Race Coverage
Cindy Sisto said that for the junior races they signed a contact which requires ski patrollers to be present on the course. For other races, patrollers need to available ASAP.
Enhanced Sanitary Protection for the Upcoming Season
· Beau Blair will obtain pricing on “Sanizide Plus”, a commercial strength surface sanitizer, for use in place of bleach.
· Installation of wall-mounted hand sanitizer dispensers in the Patrol Room will be done prior to the season’s opening.
Equipment
· Beau Blair will obtain a “SAM Pelvic Sling II” for evaluation. If results are positive we would be placing these items in each of the yellow toboggan bags.
· Geff Dennee to request Brian Inman to take the snowmobile to a certified dealer for assessment of overall conditions and recommendations for repairs.
· Beau Blair to install trial non-skid tape on 2 toboggans and 1 or 2 backboards prior to the season’s opening.
· Geff Dennee to arrange, prior to the start of the season, replacement of the bed against the west wall with storage for shift patrollers’ personal equipment.
· Geff Dennee to arrange for installation of storage hooks near where we frequently deploy trail closure signs to keep stored signs out of harm’s way.
· Walt Shepard has ordered 4 new radio harnesses to replace the worst of the units currently in use.
TSP Winter Fun Day (January 30, 2010)
Carter Riley assisted by Chris Myers is requesting suggestions and assistance for our Winter Fun Day. Favorite activities such as the scavenger hunt, toboggan rides, snow sculpture, etc. will be included but we are seeking some new ideas.
Winter Raffle
· Henry Brisman is coordinating our winter raffle again this year.
· He briefly discussed this years raffle and indicated that the equipment will be available for display prior to the start of the upcoming season.
· The raffle will be conducted as done in the past and each patroller will be given tickets to sell.
New Business
· Bob Parry volunteered to develop a reporting method to officially report equipment problems to management.
· Chris Myers agreed to investigate the pricing and availability of adjustable safety glasses with side shields for BSI.
· Phil Resch made a plea for patrollers to make complete, accurate, and legible (capable of being read or deciphered) incident reports.
Suggestions from the Blood / Air Borne Pathogen Training
· COH to assure that the Patrol Room is cleaned at the end of each shift (i.e. take out the trash, equipment properly put away, etc.)
· Recommend N-95 masks be carried in patroller’s packs or pockets.
· Improve documentation of exposure to air and blood borne contaminants.
· All patrollers improve hand washing and use of sanitizers.
Chairlift Evacuation Training
· We finished off the day with our annual fall chairlift evacuation training. Twenty-eight (28) patrollers and candidates participated.
Walter O. Shepard
Secretary, Toggenburg Ski Patrol
November 7, 2009
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