2006-06-20

HIDDEN SPRINGS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MINUTES MEETING OF JUNE 20, 2006 CALL TO ORDER. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM at the West Linn Adult Community Center by President, Lynn C. Fox. Other officers in attendance: Harvey Schultz, Vice President; Donna Baker, Treasurer; Charles Lytle, Secretary. QUORUM DATA. Eligible members in good standing as of the previous meeting: 38. At 10%, the quorum for this meeting was 4. Only members in good standing can vote. The number of eligible members in good standing in attendance at the start of the meeting was 6. Therefore, the meeting stands as an official meeting of the Neighborhood Association. GUEST SPEAKERS. Jerris Hedges, MD of Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU). MINUTES OF THE MAY 16, 2006 MEETING. Motion To Approve The Minutes: Curt Sommer Second To The Motion: Donna Baker Vote On The Motion: 5 Aye, 0 Nay, 1 Abstentions ? Motion Carried TREASURER’S REPORT. Treasurer Donna Baker reported a current account balance of $613.42. POLICE REPORT. Officer Kempas reported that there were 20 calls over the past month within the NA boundaries. There were two thefts: one of mail and one of a car and garage/house. The remaining calls were for minor nuisances, such as barking dogs, parties late at night, etc. He noted that over the past year, over 50% of buglaries in West Linn were from open garage doors. He also noted the emergence of “garage hopping,” in which high school kids run into open garages and steel food and/or alcohol stored on shelves, in refrigerators, etc. The object is to run in, grab whatever is visible and easy to nab, and then run out as quickly as possible. The best deterrent is to keep garage doors closed. The citizen police academy starts this September. It runs once a week for 13 weeks. Interested persons must fill out a written application and submit a driver’s license for a background check. HSNA POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT. n/a TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE REPORT. President Lynn Fox reported that this committee has been disbanded by the city council. GUEST SPEAKER. Dr. Hedges explained that the greater Portland area was targeted for a clinical trial of a new emergency procedure that would be used both by first responders and by emergency rooms. The trial involves the use of a concentrated saline solution to quickly reduce edema in trauma victims, especially those with severe head wounds in which irreparable brain damage can occur within a short period of time if swelling is not reduced. Specifically, the clinical trial would involved using a 7.5% saline solution instead of the current practice of using “normal” or 1.0% saline. The problem with such a clinical trial is that it is most often impossible to obtain informed consent before using the experimental technique because the patients are unconscious. Instead of informed consent, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is allowing a public outreach effort designed to alert as many people as possible before the trial is begun. This presentation is part of that outreach. For background, Dr. Hedges explained that the new, concentrated solution has been studied in Europe using animals and to a much lesser degree using humans. The FDA will not accept the European data and is requiring a large study using data only from human trauma patients. So far, a consortium of hospitals has placed display advertisements in The Oregonian and has public service announcements on TV as well as getting stories run on the local news programs on both radio and television stations. The membership was concerned that this presentation would be used to claim that all members of the Neighborhood Association were informed when only a small number of members were present. Association President Lynn Fox stated that she would not consent to allowing the impression that Dr. Hedges’ presentation HSNA Minutes June 20, 2006 Meeting Page 2 represented “informed consent” of members not present and would resist the representation of the consortium that this single presentation satisfied any criterion of “informed consent” of the membership. In response to questions from the audience, the following points were made: (1) the study is jointly funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its Canadian equivalent, with the concentrated saline supplied by its manufacturer, Baxter HealthCare, N.A. of Europe; (2) people cannot simply opt-out, although Christian Scientists are exempted from this study and all other medical intervention modalities; (3) a four-county survey was conducted, followed by a public comment period, but there was not any go/no-go threshold that had to be met for the clinical trial to proceed. The audience was most concerned because it appeared that the decision to conduct the trial had already been made and that the outreach was only a formality without any aggressive attempt to reach as many people as possible. Present with Dr. Hedges were the heads of the OSHU and Legacy System Internal Medical Review Boards. All area hospital review boards must agree to “sanction” the clinical trial, or the trial will be cancelled. Dr. Barry Anderson of the Legacy Hospital System said that he would communicate the audience’s concerns back to his board, and he assured the audience that the Board would take our concerns “very seriously.” A number of members were concerned because they consider themselves well-informed, but tonight was the first they had heard about the proposed clinical trial. They felt that consortium should be doing a much better job and suggested a story in the quarterly Clackamas County newsletter and the monthly newsletters of the various suburban communities. At the conclusion, the audience expressed their opposition to doing the trial without informed consent as traditionally defined. OLD BUSINESS. n/a NEW BUSINESS. President Lynn Fox reported that she has been in communication with Gary Shepard of the West Linn ad hoc Trails Advisory Committee about the possibility of the Neighborhood Association purchasing a bench to be placed somewhere along the newly opened Palomino Loop Trail. Ken Worcester, W.L. Parks, has stated that an outdoor bench will cost $375 and that Parks would install any bench gratis. President Fox asked for a discussion on the idea, after which the following motion was made by Vice President Harvey Schultz: The Hidden Springs Neighborhood Association will purchase an outdoor bench for the sum of $375 to be placed at a suitable location along the new Palomino Loop Trail. Motion To Purchase The Bench: Harvey Schultz Second To The Motion: Donna Baker Vote On The Motion: 4 Yea, 0 Nay, 0 Abstention ? Motion Carried NEXT MEETING DATE TO BE JULY 18, 2006 Motion To Meet In June: Charles Lytle Second To The Motion: Donna Baker Vote On The Motion: 4 Yea, 0 Nay, 0 Abstention ? Motion Carried ADJOURNMENT. The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 PM by President Lynn C. Fox. MINUTES APPROVED BY FORMAL MOTION AND VOTE AT THE DULY-CALLED MEETING OF JULY 18, 2006.