Senate Bill sb0338
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 338
By Senator Fasano
11-375-03
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to emergency medical dispatch;
3 creating s. 768.1335, F.S.; providing immunity
4 from liability for emergency medical
5 dispatchers and public safety telecommunicators
6 and their employers in the performance of their
7 duties relating to emergency medical assistance
8 or emergency medical services in specified
9 circumstances; providing a short title;
10 defining terms; amending s. 401.111, F.S.;
11 authorizing Department of Health grants to
12 emergency medical dispatch agencies; providing
13 an effective date.
14
15 WHEREAS, emergency medical dispatch programs promote
16 appropriate standards that result in more effective dispatch
17 of emergency services and the saving of lives, and
18 WHEREAS, the dispatcher is the first responder to a
19 medical emergency when someone calls 911 or directly to a
20 medical dispatch agency, and dispatchers are being recognized
21 nationally as the true first responders to the emergency
22 scene, and
23 WHEREAS, patient access is frequently delayed due to a
24 myriad of reasons such as traffic, waiting on the elevator,
25 and equipment retrieval, and
26 WHEREAS, a certified emergency medical dispatch has an
27 immediate "response time" to offer basic instructions to the
28 caller regardless of the EMS response time and is a pivotal
29 component for the delivery and receipt of information to EMS
30 units, and
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 338
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1 WHEREAS, emergency medical dispatch is a key component
2 of a quality EMS system, and
3 WHEREAS, in many parts of the state, emergency medical
4 dispatch is the weakest link in the EMS system, and
5 WHEREAS, lifesaving prearrival instructions by
6 dispatchers are not always available throughout the state, and
7 WHEREAS, in many dispatch centers dispatchers are
8 performing critical dispatch functions with little training in
9 emergency medical dispatch, and
10 WHEREAS, there is a lack of consistency in the delivery
11 of dispatch life support and medically approved lifesaving
12 prearrival instructions by dispatch offices across the state,
13 and
14 WHEREAS, organizations such as the American Heart
15 Association, American College of Emergency Physicians,
16 National Association of Emergency Medical Services Physicians,
17 National Institute of Health, National Highway Traffic Safety
18 Administration, and American Society of Testing and Materials
19 have endorsed the development and adoption of standards for
20 emergency medical dispatch, and
21 WHEREAS, properly trained emergency medical dispatchers
22 significantly improve the quality of care provided by an
23 emergency medical services system because they are able to:
24 identify the level of need of the caller, including resource
25 allocations and response modes, thus enabling more effective
26 and efficient dispatch of limited response resources; identify
27 situations that might require prearrival instructions; gather
28 information to be relayed to the responding crews to help them
29 better manage and respond to the emergency situation upon
30 arrival; and obtain information regarding emergency scene
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 338
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1 safety for the patient, bystanders, and responding personnel,
2 and
3 WHEREAS, as a result of inconsistencies in dispatch
4 centers, many states are now adopting a standard emergency
5 medical dispatch program, and
6 WHEREAS, there is an expectation by the public that,
7 when they call for emergency medical help, a properly trained
8 dispatcher will handle their call regardless of where they are
9 located in the state, and
10 WHEREAS, the most successful EMS systems are those that
11 have strong field response times coupled with well-trained 911
12 dispatchers, and
13 WHEREAS, emergency medical dispatch has become a clear
14 standard of care for emergency medical services dispatch, NOW,
15 THEREFORE,
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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19 Section 1. Section 768.1335, Florida Statutes, is
20 created to read:
21 768.1335 Emergency Medical Dispatch Act; immunity from
22 civil liability.--
23 (1) This section may be cited as the "Emergency
24 Medical Dispatch Act."
25 (2) As used in this section, the term:
26 (a) "Emergency medical dispatch" means the function of
27 using established emergency medical dispatch protocols for
28 providing prompt and accurate processing of calls for
29 emergency medical assistance.
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 338
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1 (b) "Emergency medical dispatch agency" means any
2 private or public safety entity that has responsibility for
3 emergency medical dispatch by emergency medical dispatchers.
4 (c) "Emergency medical dispatch protocol" means
5 guidelines for processing calls for emergency medical
6 assistance or for dispatching emergency medical services which
7 are consistent with standards set forth by the American
8 Society for Testing and Materials or the National Highway
9 Traffic Safety Administration and which have been incorporated
10 into an emergency medical dispatch training program.
11 (d) "Emergency medical dispatcher" means a public
12 safety telecommunicator who is trained and certified in the
13 prompt and accurate processing of calls for emergency medical
14 assistance.
15 (e) "Harm" means damage or loss of any type,
16 including, but not limited to, physical, nonphysical,
17 economic, noneconomic, actual, compensatory, consequential,
18 incidental, and punitive damages or losses.
19 (3) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary and
20 unless otherwise immune under s. 768.28, any emergency medical
21 dispatcher or public safety telecommunicator who uses
22 emergency medical dispatch protocols is immune from civil
23 liability for any harm resulting from the use of emergency
24 medical dispatch protocols. In addition, any emergency medical
25 dispatch agency and its agents or employees are also immune
26 from such liability if:
27 (a) The harm was not due to the failure of the agency
28 to:
29 1. Properly train its emergency medical dispatchers in
30 an emergency medical dispatch that is consistent with
31 standards set forth by the American Society for Testing and
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 338
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1 Materials or the National Highway Traffic Safety
2 Administration;
3 2. Implement standard practices and management for
4 emergency medical dispatch or practices that are consistent
5 with the standards set forth by the American Society for
6 Testing and Materials or the National Highway Traffic Safety
7 Administration; or
8 3. Use standard practice for training, instructor
9 qualification, and certification eligibility of emergency
10 medical dispatchers or standards that are consistent with the
11 American Society for Testing and Materials or the National
12 Highway Traffic Safety Administration; and
13 (b) The harm involved was not caused by the public
14 safety telecommunicator's, the emergency medical dispatcher's,
15 or the emergency medical dispatch agency's willful or criminal
16 misconduct, gross negligence, or reckless disregard or
17 misconduct or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights
18 or safety of the victim who was harmed.
19 Section 2. Section 401.111, Florida Statutes, is
20 amended to read:
21 401.111 Emergency medical services grant program;
22 authority.--The department may is hereby authorized to make
23 grants to local agencies, and emergency medical services
24 organizations, and emergency medical dispatch agencies in
25 accordance with any agreement entered into pursuant to this
26 part. These grants shall be designed to assist such said
27 agencies and organizations in providing emergency medical
28 services, including emergency medical dispatch. The cost of
29 administering this program shall be paid by the department
30 from funds appropriated to it.
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 338
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1 Section 3. This act shall take effect September 11,
2 2003.
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5 SENATE SUMMARY
6 Provides limited liability for emergency medical
dispatchers and for certain other public safety
7 telecommunicators, and for their employers, for harm
resulting from use of emergency medical dispatch
8 protocols or for harm otherwise incurred, as long as
specified conditions are met. Authorizes the Department
9 of Health to make grants to emergency medical dispatch
agencies.
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