- Email: [email protected]
CAMTS Committees
Ask the CAMTS
Eileen Frazer, RN, CMTE
CAMTS Committees There are several committees that act under and report to the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) to assist with specific tasks and provide expertise and support. As with the Board of Directors, these committees function under a voluntary basis and are composed of board members, site surveyors, and professional peers. Throughout the year, most of the committee business is conducted through conference calls and e-mails, but we do have annual face-to-face meetings during the Air Medical Transport Conference where conference attendees are invited to participate. In 2013, we reconvened the Aviation Advisory Committee. This committee had been inactive for many years because there was little participation from constituents. The Air Medical Operators Association and the Association of Air Medical Transport were interested in participating and becoming more involved in creating standards and addressing aviation issues as advisors to the board so this committee was reformed in 2013. Tasks of this committee include the following: • Identify possible future changes to CAMTS standards to develop strategic changes that will raise the level of safety for the industry. • Address site visit findings by the Quality Maintenance Committee to track and trend aviation and operational issues that occur during a site visit that may require procedural changes. • Address safety culture surveys tracking and trending. • Refine the aviation track syllabus for site surveyor initial and recurrent training. • Review and update the maintenance checklist for use during site visits. • Develop or endorse third-parties’ (eg, International Helicopter Safety Team [IHST]) safety promotion material that can be shared via the CAMTS website or presented at industry conventions/seminars. • Monitor aviation safety trends and summarize for the board, at least annually, accident causes and industry best practices. • Monitor, analyze, and, when applicable, address aviation regulatory actions, standards, or activities that may impact CAMTS standards. When applicable, present such changes to the board and/or train site surveyors on such changes. This committee is very structured and includes a wide participation from the aviation industry including international representation. Mr Fred Brisbois, an ad hoc CAMTS board member, was voted chair of the committee in 2014. Mr Brisbois is retired from Sikorsky where he had been director of aviation and product safety, a senior system safety engineer, November-December 2014
and program manager for safety. Mr Brisbois is also 1 of the founding members of the IHST, cochaired the IHST’s US implementation team, and was coauthor of the Safety Management System toolkit. This committee has already made recommendations for revisions to the 10th edition standards that are in draft format on the CAMTS website. The entire draft of 10th edition standards is open for comments and suggestions as we prepare subsequent drafts for final board approval in 2015. Other committees include the Education Committee, the Marketing Committee, and the Quality Maintenance and Standards Committee. Dr Renee Holleran, a board member representing the Emergency Nurses Association, and Mary Holtschneider, RN, MPA, representing the Association of Critical Care Nurses, cochair the Education Committee and are primarily responsible for the approval of simulation scenarios. Education offerings, such as just culture, are also included in the functions of this committee under Mr Dudley Smith, the associate executive director. Ms Terry Palmer (an ad hoc board member) is chair of the marketing committee and is responsible for printed materials, blogs, and tweets to keep transport professionals informed about current CAMTS activities. Ms Denise Treadwell, a board member representing the Association of Air Medical Transport, is chair of the Quality Management Committee. This committee is responsible for the CAMTS internal quality improvement process, which is constantly evolving and changing to reflect standard, policy, and process changes. Lastly, the Standards Committee has been our most consistent and active committee and has representatives from all aspects of the transport community. Ms Laura Lee Demmons, program director of Critical Care Transport in Birmingham, AL, and also a site surveyor since 1997, has been the chair of this committee for the past 10 years. Ms Demmons has been instrumental in finalizing drafts for board approval since that time, and the committee is currently working on the 10th edition, which will published in 2015. Please contact the CAMTS office if you have questions or interest in a specific committee. Some committees have open membership and others have limited numbers, but we welcome interest and participation from the medical transport community at large. Eileen Frazer, RN, CMTE, is the CAMTS executive director. She can be reached at [email protected]. 1067-991X/$36.00 Copyright 2014 by Air Medical Journal Associates http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amj.2014.08.004
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Eileen Frazer, RN, CMTE
CAMTS Committees There are several committees that act under and report to the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) to assist with specific tasks and provide expertise and support. As with the Board of Directors, these committees function under a voluntary basis and are composed of board members, site surveyors, and professional peers. Throughout the year, most of the committee business is conducted through conference calls and e-mails, but we do have annual face-to-face meetings during the Air Medical Transport Conference where conference attendees are invited to participate. In 2013, we reconvened the Aviation Advisory Committee. This committee had been inactive for many years because there was little participation from constituents. The Air Medical Operators Association and the Association of Air Medical Transport were interested in participating and becoming more involved in creating standards and addressing aviation issues as advisors to the board so this committee was reformed in 2013. Tasks of this committee include the following: • Identify possible future changes to CAMTS standards to develop strategic changes that will raise the level of safety for the industry. • Address site visit findings by the Quality Maintenance Committee to track and trend aviation and operational issues that occur during a site visit that may require procedural changes. • Address safety culture surveys tracking and trending. • Refine the aviation track syllabus for site surveyor initial and recurrent training. • Review and update the maintenance checklist for use during site visits. • Develop or endorse third-parties’ (eg, International Helicopter Safety Team [IHST]) safety promotion material that can be shared via the CAMTS website or presented at industry conventions/seminars. • Monitor aviation safety trends and summarize for the board, at least annually, accident causes and industry best practices. • Monitor, analyze, and, when applicable, address aviation regulatory actions, standards, or activities that may impact CAMTS standards. When applicable, present such changes to the board and/or train site surveyors on such changes. This committee is very structured and includes a wide participation from the aviation industry including international representation. Mr Fred Brisbois, an ad hoc CAMTS board member, was voted chair of the committee in 2014. Mr Brisbois is retired from Sikorsky where he had been director of aviation and product safety, a senior system safety engineer, November-December 2014
and program manager for safety. Mr Brisbois is also 1 of the founding members of the IHST, cochaired the IHST’s US implementation team, and was coauthor of the Safety Management System toolkit. This committee has already made recommendations for revisions to the 10th edition standards that are in draft format on the CAMTS website. The entire draft of 10th edition standards is open for comments and suggestions as we prepare subsequent drafts for final board approval in 2015. Other committees include the Education Committee, the Marketing Committee, and the Quality Maintenance and Standards Committee. Dr Renee Holleran, a board member representing the Emergency Nurses Association, and Mary Holtschneider, RN, MPA, representing the Association of Critical Care Nurses, cochair the Education Committee and are primarily responsible for the approval of simulation scenarios. Education offerings, such as just culture, are also included in the functions of this committee under Mr Dudley Smith, the associate executive director. Ms Terry Palmer (an ad hoc board member) is chair of the marketing committee and is responsible for printed materials, blogs, and tweets to keep transport professionals informed about current CAMTS activities. Ms Denise Treadwell, a board member representing the Association of Air Medical Transport, is chair of the Quality Management Committee. This committee is responsible for the CAMTS internal quality improvement process, which is constantly evolving and changing to reflect standard, policy, and process changes. Lastly, the Standards Committee has been our most consistent and active committee and has representatives from all aspects of the transport community. Ms Laura Lee Demmons, program director of Critical Care Transport in Birmingham, AL, and also a site surveyor since 1997, has been the chair of this committee for the past 10 years. Ms Demmons has been instrumental in finalizing drafts for board approval since that time, and the committee is currently working on the 10th edition, which will published in 2015. Please contact the CAMTS office if you have questions or interest in a specific committee. Some committees have open membership and others have limited numbers, but we welcome interest and participation from the medical transport community at large. Eileen Frazer, RN, CMTE, is the CAMTS executive director. She can be reached at [email protected]. 1067-991X/$36.00 Copyright 2014 by Air Medical Journal Associates http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amj.2014.08.004
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