Florida Senate - 2018                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 488
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì257094;Î257094                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       The Committee on Health Policy (Grimsley) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 16 - 87
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Present subsections (2) through (21) of section
    6  401.23, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (3)
    7  through (22), respectively, a new subsection (2) is added to
    8  that section, present subsection (19) of that section is
    9  amended, and subsection (1) of that section is republished, to
   10  read:
   11         401.23 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term:
   12         (1) “Advanced life support” means assessment or treatment
   13  by a person qualified under this part through the use of
   14  techniques such as endotracheal intubation, the administration
   15  of drugs or intravenous fluids, telemetry, cardiac monitoring,
   16  cardiac defibrillation, and other techniques described in the
   17  EMT-Paramedic National Standard Curriculum or the National EMS
   18  Education Standards, pursuant to rules of the department.
   19         (2)“Advanced life support nontransport services” means the
   20  provision of services defined in subsection (1) in an emergency
   21  by a licensee until the arrival of an air ambulance or ambulance
   22  provided by another entity that is used for, or intended to be
   23  used for, land, air, or water transportation of sick or injured
   24  persons requiring or likely to require medical attention during
   25  transport. For the purpose of this definition, “emergency” means
   26  a situation in which a person has a medical condition that
   27  manifests itself by acute symptoms of such severity, including
   28  severe pain, that the absence of immediate medical attention
   29  could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the person’s health
   30  or result in serious impairment to bodily functions or serious
   31  dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. The term “emergency”
   32  includes a response to a 911 call.
   33         (20)(19) “Physician” means a practitioner who is licensed
   34  under the provisions of chapter 458 or chapter 459. For the
   35  purpose of providing medical direction “medical direction” as
   36  defined in subsection (14) for the treatment of patients
   37  immediately prior to or during transportation to a United States
   38  Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility, the term
   39  “physician” also means a practitioner employed by the United
   40  States Department of Veterans Affairs.
   41         Section 2. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) is amended and
   42  new subsection (8) is added to section 401.25, Florida Statutes,
   43  to read:
   44         401.25 Licensure as a basic life support or an advanced
   45  life support service.—
   46         (2) The department shall issue a license for operation to
   47  any applicant who complies with the following requirements:
   48         (d) The applicant has obtained a certificate of public
   49  convenience and necessity from each county in which the
   50  applicant will operate. However, notwithstanding, any general
   51  law, special act, or ordinance of a local government to the
   52  contrary, except as provided in subparagraph 4., a governmental
   53  entity that maintains fire rescue infrastructure and provides
   54  first responders as defined in s. 112.1815 is not required to
   55  obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity or any
   56  other authorization from a county to provide advanced life
   57  support nontransport services if the governmental entity meets
   58  the requirements of this chapter and applicable department rules
   59  and uses a countywide common medical protocol, if such a
   60  protocol is instituted.
   61         1. In issuing the certificate of public convenience and
   62  necessity, the governing body of each county shall consider the
   63  recommendations of municipalities within its jurisdiction.
   64         2. If a countywide common medical protocol restricts or
   65  limits the ability of the governmental entity to provide
   66  advanced life support nontransport services without a
   67  certificate of public convenience and necessity, the
   68  governmental entity must meet only the requirements of this
   69  chapter and applicable department rules to obtain its license.
   70         3. A governmental entity intending to provide advanced life
   71  support nontransport services without a certificate of public
   72  convenience and necessity must notify the county and
   73  municipalities in its proposed service area of its submission of
   74  an application to the state.
   75         4. The exception to the certificate of public convenience
   76  and necessity requirement in this paragraph does not apply to a
   77  county in which there is a countywide emergency medical services
   78  authority created by special act or a governmental entity that
   79  contracts with a private entity to provide fire rescue services.
   80         (8) If a license is issued without a certificate of public
   81  convenience and necessity, as authorized by paragraph (2)(d),
   82  the department shall issue such license so that the licensee is
   83  limited to providing advanced life support nontransport
   84  services. Vehicle permits issued to such a licensee pursuant to
   85  section 401.26 must be for nontransport only.
   86  
   87  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   88  And the title is amended as follows:
   89         Delete lines 3 - 4
   90  and insert:
   91         amending s. 401.23, F.S.; defining the term "advanced
   92         life support nontransport services";