Archives for February 2007

Clarendon College has more students than a year ago, according to preliminary enrollment figures for the 2007 spring semester.

As of the 12th class day, which was last Wednesday, CC had a total enrollment of 993 students. That’s up from 983 last spring and 953 in the spring of 2005.

“We’ve got good folks who have done a good job recruiting, and we’ve got new programs and classes in Childress and Pampa,” said CC President Myles Shelton. “It’s a lot of little successes that add up to a significant difference.”

Enrollment has fallen slightly on the home campus in Clarendon from 377 last spring to 360 now, and the same has happened at the CC Pampa Center, where the number of students fell from 245 to 203. Shelton said those losses may be attributed to the commuter students now attending class in Childress.

“Our dorm counts are holding steady,” Shelton said.

The most important figure though is the number of contact hours CC is generating, which is a method the state uses to determine the college’s funding. Contact hours have increased 13.9 percent from 206,768 in spring 2006 to 233,840 this spring.

“This is what’s called a base period, and that determines funding for the next two years,” Shelton said.

Fall contact hours are also considered during the funding cycle, and CC has increased contact hours by 15.7 percent between the fall of 2004 and the fall of 2006.

That’s a bigger percentage than any other community college in the state, and CC hopes to lead the state again this spring.

In other college business, the CC Board of Regents met in called session last Friday during which it considered and approved a resolution and agreement to hold joint elections with the City of Clarendon, Clarendon ISD, and the Donley County Hospital District.

A debate over the number of full time EMS employees and how to compensate volunteers led to the resignation of Associated Ambulance Authority Director Anita Aaron last week.

“I just felt it was the best thing for the service and that a change in leadership might help move things forward,” Aaron told the Enterprise.

The sudden resignation came January 30 during an emergency meeting of the Donley County Hospital Board, which oversees the ambulance service. The board had met in called session the day before to discuss staffing of the ambulance service.

According to board minutes, the board agreed to increase the number of full time paramedics from three and a half to five, but Aaron objected to that plan, saying it was insufficient. She also asked for more incentives for the volunteers who support the ambulance service, but that issue was tabled.

Aaron said Friday that she had hoped that the board would provide additional compensation for the volunteers and that adding two paramedics would not alleviate the pressure on the service’s existing paramedics, who have to be on call around the clock.

“I think five 24-hour shifts is too much,” Aaron said. “You can’t even put a cake in the oven unless you have someone else there to take it out.”

Aaron said she urged the board to contact the hospital district in Canadian to learn about that community’s ambulance service.

“They have a very unique situation,” Aaron said. “Their call volume is similar to ours. They have seven employees – four paramedics, two basic EMTs, and one director.”

Aaron also wanted to increase the per call pay for volunteers and have some compensation for the time when they are on call – an idea she says was originated by board president Alan Fletcher.

Fletcher thanked Aaron for her service to the community during Tuesday’s meeting, and the board named paramedic Anna Howard to serve as interim director.

Paramedic Debra Hill, who said she quit at last Tuesday’s meeting, had agreed to stay on the job after visiting with individual board members later that night, Fletcher said.

Aaron’s resignation surprised Fletcher.

“She said Canadian has seven full time employees, but it was never stated exactly what she wanted,” Fletcher said. “Our understanding is that they are overworked and that there are too many 24-hour shifts, so we were trying to alleviate that with five full time people and then fill in with volunteers.”

Fletcher said that the debate about compensating the volunteers more has been going on for six months or more.

“They get $10 for a ‘no transport’ call and $25 for a call where there is a transport,” he said. “Some of the volunteers want to be compensated for the time that they are on call.”

Fletcher said several issues must be considered when increasing the compensation for volunteers. He said the board would have to consider all the issues and said, “You want the best service for the citizens of Donley County.”

Aaron will be taking some time before decided what to do next, but she has nothing but good things to say about the people of Clarendon and its ambulance service.

“It’s been a very good experience for me to be here, and I have been honored to work with these people,” she said. “Clarendon is truly blessed with the caliber of people we have and their dedication to this service. Change is always difficult, but it is not always bad.”

The Donley County Hospital Board met in called session Monday night to listen to the concerns of volunteer EMTs regarding the operation of the Associated Ambulance Authority.

The meeting followed the sudden resignation of ambulance director Anita Aaron last week amidst a debate over staffing for the service.

Miscommunication was repeatedly blamed Monday night for differences between the hospital board and the volunteer EMS staff. EMT Heather King said it was an issue for both sides.

“A lot of the problem is misinformation,” she said. “We haven’t gotten the whole story, and neither have y’all. Unless we get the communication problem solved, it will always be a problem.”

Examples of communication problems ranged from whether volunteers are covered by the hospital district’s workers compensation insurance (they are) to when the hospital board meets (every third Tuesday).

Board president Alan Fletcher said he appreciated the volunteers’ service and accepted some of the blame for the communication problems.

“It’s as much my fault as anybody’s,” he said.

During the meeting, EMS members discussed the demands on their time as a volunteer, especially when they are on call. Their only compensation is $10 for a call and $25 for a call where a patient is transported for treatment. But being available for a call means blocking off any other obligation and, in some cases, having a babysitter on standby for children of EMTs.

“You cannot schedule anything else during this time that cannot be interrupted,” EMT Pat Archuleta said.

Volunteers also said the practice of having to sign up for shifts a month at a time is difficult because it is hard to know what they will be doing that far in advance.

Some volunteers who live in the country give up time at home to sleep at the ambulance barn so they can be on call during late shifts, and only two volunteers are able to sign up for the midnight to 8 a.m. shift since most other volunteers work during the day. The shift from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. is also difficult to cover.

Interim ambulance director Anna Howard presented the board with two options, both of which would compensate volunteers $2 per hour for being on call and increase the payments for answering calls.

“Just $550 plus $180 per ambulance will change our certification from “volunteer” to “paid/volunteer” status,” Howard said. “The volunteers would be responsible for updating their certification, but that’s just $64.”

Board members asked how the status change would affect the service when it applied for grants, and Howard said it probably would not hurt the service.

Howard also said the authority could try scheduling on a two-week period rather than a month ahead of time.

Fletcher asked Howard to meet with a committee from the board to put together a proposal for the next regular meeting on February 20.

Also during Monday’s meeting, EMS volunteers thanked the board for its support of the ambulance service, noting that Donley County is fortunate to have equipment, personnel, and experience that are superior to most communities its size. EMT Jennifer Haney said that this is noticed most during times where neighboring counties require mutual aid.

“Clarendon has been the central location for mutual aid,” she said. “We are the mutual aid for this area.”

A debate over the number of full time EMS employees and how to compensate volunteers led to the resignation of Associated Ambulance Authority Director Anita Aaron this week.

“I just felt it was the best thing for the service and that a change in leadership might help move things forward,” Aaron told the Enterprise Friday afternoon.

The sudden resignation came Tuesday night, January 30, during an emergency meeting of the Donley County Hospital Board, which oversees the ambulance service. The board had met in called session the day before to discuss staffing of the ambulance service.

According to board minutes, the board agreed to increase the number of full time paramedics from three and a half to five, but Aaron objected to that plan, saying it was insufficient. She also asked for more incentives for the volunteers that support the ambulance service, but that issue was tabled.

Aaron said Friday that she had hoped that the board would provide additional compensation for the volunteers and that adding two paramedics would not alleviate the pressure on the service’s existing paramedics, who have to be on call around the clock.

“I think five 24-hour shifts is too much,” Aaron said. “You can’t even put a cake in the oven unless you have someone else there to take it out.”

Aaron said she urged the board to contact the administrator of the hospital district in Canadian to learn about that community’s ambulance service.

“They have a very unique situation,” Aaron said. “Their call volume is similar to ours. They have seven employees – four paramedics, two basic EMTs, and one director.”

Aaron also wanted to increase the per call pay for volunteers and have some compensation for the time when they are on call – an idea she says was originated by board president Alan Fletcher.

Fletcher thanked Aaron for her service to the community during Tuesday’s meeting and told the Enterprise Friday that paramedic Anna Howard is serving as interim director of the service. He also said that paramedic Debra Hill, who said she quit at Tuesday’s meeting, had agreed to stay on the job after visiting with individual board members later that night.

“I think everything is okay,” Fletcher said. “We’re going to meet Monday with the volunteers and see what their concerns are.”

Fletcher said he was shocked when Aaron resigned.

“She said Canadian has seven full time employees, but it was never stated exactly what she wanted,” Fletcher said. “Our understanding is that they are overworked and that there are too many 24-hour shifts, so we were trying to alleviate that with five full time people and then fill in with volunteers.”

Fletcher said that the debate about compensating the volunteers more has been going on for six months or more.

“They get $10 for a ‘no transport’ call and $25 for a call where there is a transport,” he said. “Some of the volunteers want to be compensated for the time that they are on call.”

Fletcher said several issues must be considered when increasing the compensation for volunteers. First, the Associated Ambulance Authority is classified by the state as a “volunteer service,” and increasing compensation and the number of full time employees would change that status to “paid service.” That means more expensive licensing fees and raises the question of how the service would be viewed when it tries to apply for grants, he said.

Fletcher said the board must also stay within its budget and consider what turning volunteers into part time employs means for the hospital district with regards to employee benefits and other issues.

Fletcher said the board would have to consider all those issues and said “You want the best service for the citizens of Donley County.”

Aaron will be taking some time before decides what to do next, but she has nothing but good things to say about the people of Clarendon and its ambulance service.

“It’s been a very good experience for me to be here, and I have been honored to work with these people,” she said. “Clarendon is truly blessed with the caliber of people we have and their dedication to this service. Change is always difficult, but it is not always bad.”