Senate Bill No. 612
(By Senators Walker and Bowman)
____________
[Introduced February 22, 1999; referred to the Committee on
Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact sections three and eight, article
four-c, chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating
to emergency medical services personnel; clarifying the
definition of "ambulance"; and specifying staffing and
personnel requirements for specialized multipatient medical
transports.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections three and eight, article four-c, chapter
sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 4C. EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ACT.
§16-4C-3. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context clearly requires
a different meaning:
(a) "Ambulance" means any privately or publicly-owned
vehicle or aircraft which is designed, constructed or modified;
equipped or maintained; and operated for the transportation of
patients,
including, but not limited to, emergency medical
services vehicles; rotary and fixed wing air ambulances;
gsa kkk-A-1822 federal standard type I, type II and type III
vehicles; and specialized multipatient medical transport
vehicles;
(b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the bureau of
public health;
(c) "Council" means the emergency medical service advisory
council created pursuant to section five of this article;
(d) "Emergency medical services" means all services which
are set forth in Public Law 93-154 "The Emergency Medical
Services Systems Act of 1973" and those included in and made a
part of the emergency medical services plan of the department of
health and human resources inclusive of, but not limited to,
responding to the medical needs of an individual to prevent the
loss of life or aggravation of illness or injury;
(e) "Emergency medical service agency" means any agency licensed under section six-a of this article to provide emergency
medical services;
(f) "Emergency medical service attendant" means a person
certified by the commissioner pursuant to the provisions of
section eight of this article to render the services authorized
pursuant to the provisions of section fourteen of this article;
(g) "Emergency medical service personnel" means any person
certified by the commissioner to provide emergency medical
services authorized in section eight of this article and
includes, but is not limited to, emergency medical service
attendant, emergency medical technician-basic and emergency
medical technician-paramedic;
(h) "Emergency medical service provider" means any
authority, person, corporation, partnership or other entity,
public or private, which owns or operates a licensed emergency
medical services agency providing emergency medical service in
this state;
(i) "Emergency medical technician-basic" means a person
certified by the commissioner pursuant to the provisions of
section eight of this article to render the services authorized
pursuant to the provisions of section fourteen of this article;
(j) "Emergency medical technician-paramedic" means a person
certified by the commissioner pursuant to the provisions of
section eight of this article to render services as authorized pursuant to the provisions of section fourteen of this article;
(k) "Governing body" has the meanings ascribed to it as
applied to a municipality in subdivision (1), subsection (b),
section two, article one, chapter eight of this code;
(l) "Line officer" means the emergency medical service
personnel, present at the scene of an accident, injury or
illness, who has taken the responsibility for patient care;
(m) "Medical command" means the issuing of orders by a
physician from a medical facility to emergency medical service
personnel for the purpose of providing appropriate patient care;
(n) "Municipality" has the meaning ascribed to it in
subdivision (1), subsection (a), section two, article one,
chapter eight of this code;
(o) "Patient" means any person who is a recipient of the
services provided by emergency medical services;
(p) "Service reciprocity" means the provision of emergency
medical services to citizens of this state by emergency medical
service personnel certified to render those services by a
neighboring state; and
(q) "Small emergency medical service provider" means any
emergency medical service provider which is made up of less than
twenty emergency medical service personnel.
§16-4C-8. Standards for emergency medical service personnel.
(a) Every ambulance operated by an emergency medical service
agency shall carry at least two personnel. At least one person
shall be certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation or first aid
and the person in the patient-compartment shall be minimally
certified as an emergency medical technician-basic,
except that
in the case of a specialized multipatient medical transport only
one staff person is required and this person shall be minimally
certified at the level of an emergency medical technician-basic.
(b) As a minimum the training for each class of emergency
medical service personnel shall include:
(1) Emergency medical service attendant: Shall have earned
and possess valid certificates from the department or by
authorities recognized and approved by the commissioner;
(2) Emergency medical technician-basic: Shall have
successfully completed the course for certification as an
emergency medical technician-basic as established by the
commissioner or authorities recognized and approved by the
commissioner; and
(3) Emergency medical technician-paramedic: Shall have
successfully completed the course for certification as an
emergency medical technician-paramedic established by the
commissioner or authorities recognized and approved by the
commissioner.
The foregoing may not be considered to limit the power of the commissioner to prescribe training, certification and
recertification standards.
(c) Any person desiring emergency medical service personnel
certification shall apply to the commissioner using forms and
procedures prescribed by the commissioner. Upon receipt of the
application, the commissioner shall determine whether the
applicant meets the certification requirements and may examine
the applicant, if necessary to make that determination. If it is
determined that the applicant meets all of the requirements, the
commissioner shall issue an appropriate emergency medical service
personnel certificate which shall be valid for a period as
determined by the commissioner.
State and county continuing education and recertification
programs for all levels of emergency medical service providers
shall be available to emergency medical service providers at a
convenient site within one hundred miles of the provider's
primary place of operation at sites determined by the regional
emergency medical services offices. The continuing education
program shall be provided at a cost specified in a fee schedule
to be promulgated by legislative rule in accordance with the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
by the
department division of health to all nonprofit emergency
medical service personnel.
(d) The commissioner may issue a temporary emergency medical service personnel certificate to an applicant, with or without
examination of the applicant, when he or she finds that issuance
to be in the public interest. Unless suspended or revoked, a
temporary certificate shall be valid initially for a period not
exceeding one hundred twenty days and may not be renewed unless
the commissioner finds the renewal to be in the public interest.
The expiration date of a temporary certificate shall be extended
until the holder is afforded at least one opportunity to take an
emergency medical service personnel training course within the
general area where he or she serves as an emergency medical
service personnel, but the expiration date may not be extended
for any longer period of time or for any other reason.
______
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify the
definition of "ambulance" and to specify staffing and personnel
requirements for specialized multipatient medical transports.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.)
_____
HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
On page ___, section eight, line ___, after the word "be" by
striking out the remainder of the paragraph and inserting in lieu
thereof the following:
minimally certified as an emergency
medical technician-basic
at a minimum, except that in the case of
a specialized multi- patient medical transport, only one staff
person is required and that person shall be certified, at a
minimum, at the level of an emergency medical technician-basic.
_____
FINANCE COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
On page ___, section three, line ___, after the word
"vehicles" by inserting the words "operated by an emergency
medical services agency".
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
