Elkhart EMS authorized to sign clinical‑education agreement with Beacon, to accept Boundtree rebate for medication‑tracking system

William Sullivan, division chief for EMS, asked the board to authorize two items on Feb. 24: a clinical‑education agreement with Beacon Health System to allow the department’s EMT and advanced‑EMT students to complete clinical rotations at Beacon hospitals, and an Operative IQ medication‑tracking implementation for which Boundtree Medical offered to rebate most of the cost.

Sullivan said the clinical agreement permits students to complete time in emergency departments, surgical units and other clinical rotations at Beacon locations and that the agreement has been reviewed by staff. The board voted to approve the agreement and authorized the fire chief or assistant chief to execute it on behalf of the city.

On the Operative IQ item, Sullivan said the department already uses Operative IQ in other areas and Boundtree, the department’s medication supplier, proposed to rebate the implementation cost; given the department’s size, the rebate would cover nearly the entire cost. The board approved the Operative IQ implementation and accepted the Boundtree rebate by voice vote.

No cost figure was given in the transcript for the Operative IQ implementation; Sullivan said the rebate amount depends on department spending and that current estimates indicate Boundtree would cover almost the full cost.