Florida Senate - 2012 SB 450
By Senator Oelrich
14-00528-12 2012450__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to emergency medical services;
3 amending s. 381.0034, F.S.; deleting the requirement
4 for emergency medical technicians and paramedics to
5 complete an educational course on the modes of
6 transmission, infection control procedures, clinical
7 management, and prevention of human immunodeficiency
8 virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome;
9 amending s. 401.23, F.S.; redefining the term “basic
10 life support” for purposes of the Raymond H.
11 Alexander, M.D., Emergency Medical Transportation
12 Services Act; amending s. 401.24, F.S.; revising the
13 period for review of the comprehensive state plan for
14 emergency medical services and programs; amending s.
15 401.27, F.S.; revising the requirements for
16 certification or recertification as an emergency
17 medical technician or paramedic; revising the
18 requirements for certification for an out-of-state
19 trained emergency medical technician or paramedic;
20 amending s. 401.2701, F.S.; revising requirements for
21 an institution that conducts an approved program for
22 the education of emergency medical technicians and
23 paramedics; revising the requirements that students
24 must meet in order to receive a certificate of
25 completion from an approved program; providing an
26 effective date.
27
28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 381.0034, Florida
31 Statutes, is amended to read:
32 381.0034 Requirement for instruction on HIV and AIDS.—
33 (1) As of July 1, 1991, the Department of Health shall
34 require each person licensed or certified under chapter 401,
35 chapter 467, part IV of chapter 468, or chapter 483, as a
36 condition of biennial relicensure, to complete an educational
37 course approved by the department on the modes of transmission,
38 infection control procedures, clinical management, and
39 prevention of human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune
40 deficiency syndrome. Such course shall include information on
41 current state Florida law on acquired immune deficiency syndrome
42 and its impact on testing, confidentiality of test results, and
43 treatment of patients. Each such licensee or certificateholder
44 shall submit confirmation of having completed the said course,
45 on a form provided by the department, when submitting fees or
46 application for each biennial renewal.
47 Section 2. Subsection (7) of section 401.23, Florida
48 Statutes, is amended to read:
49 401.23 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term:
50 (7) “Basic life support” means treatment of medical
51 emergencies by a qualified person through the use of techniques
52 such as patient assessment, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR),
53 splinting, obstetrical assistance, bandaging, administration of
54 oxygen, application of medical antishock trousers,
55 administration of a subcutaneous injection using a premeasured
56 autoinjector of epinephrine to a person suffering an
57 anaphylactic reaction, and other techniques described in the
58 Emergency Medical Technician Basic Training Course Curriculum or
59 the National EMS Education Standards of the United States
60 Department of Transportation as approved by the department. The
61 term “basic life support” also includes other techniques that
62 which have been approved and are performed under conditions
63 specified by rules of the department.
64 Section 3. Section 401.24, Florida Statutes, is amended to
65 read:
66 401.24 Emergency medical services state plan.—The
67 department is responsible, at a minimum, for the improvement and
68 regulation of basic and advanced life support programs. The
69 department shall develop, and biennially revise every 5 years, a
70 comprehensive state plan for basic and advanced life support
71 services, the emergency medical services grants program, trauma
72 centers, the injury control program, and medical disaster
73 preparedness. The state plan shall include, but need not be
74 limited to:
75 (1) Emergency medical systems planning, including the
76 prehospital and hospital phases of patient care, and injury
77 control effort and unification of such services into a total
78 delivery system to include air, water, and land services.
79 (2) Requirements for the operation, coordination, and
80 ongoing development of emergency medical services, which
81 includes: basic life support or advanced life support vehicles,
82 equipment, and supplies; communications; personnel; training;
83 public education; state trauma system; injury control; and other
84 medical care components.
85 (3) The definition of areas of responsibility for
86 regulating and planning the ongoing and developing delivery
87 service requirements.
88 Section 4. Subsections (4) and (12) of section 401.27,
89 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
90 401.27 Personnel; standards and certification.—
91 (4) An applicant for certification or recertification as an
92 emergency medical technician or paramedic must:
93 (a) Have completed an appropriate training course as
94 follows:
95 1. For an emergency medical technician, an emergency
96 medical technician training course equivalent to the most recent
97 National EMS Education Standards emergency medical technician
98 basic training course of the United States Department of
99 Transportation as approved by the department;
100 2. For a paramedic, a paramedic training program equivalent
101 to the most recent national standard curriculum or National EMS
102 Education Standards paramedic course of the United States
103 Department of Transportation as approved by the department;
104 (b) Certify under oath that he or she is not addicted to
105 alcohol or any controlled substance;
106 (c) Certify under oath that he or she is free from any
107 physical or mental defect or disease that might impair the
108 applicant’s ability to perform his or her duties;
109 (d) Within 2 years 1 year after course completion have
110 passed an examination developed or required by the department;
111 (e)1. For an emergency medical technician, hold either a
112 current American Heart Association cardiopulmonary resuscitation
113 course card or an American Red Cross cardiopulmonary
114 resuscitation course card or its equivalent as defined by
115 department rule;
116 2. For a paramedic, hold a certificate of successful course
117 completion in advanced cardiac life support from the American
118 Heart Association or its equivalent as defined by department
119 rule;
120 (f) Submit the certification fee and the nonrefundable
121 examination fee prescribed in s. 401.34, which examination fee
122 will be required for each examination administered to an
123 applicant; and
124 (g) Submit a completed application to the department, which
125 application documents compliance with paragraphs (a), (b), (c),
126 (e), (f), (g), and, if applicable, (d). The application must be
127 submitted so as to be received by the department at least 30
128 calendar days before the next regularly scheduled examination
129 for which the applicant desires to be scheduled.
130 (12) An applicant for certification who is an out-of-state
131 trained emergency medical technician or paramedic must provide
132 proof of current emergency medical technician or paramedic
133 certification or registration based upon successful completion
134 of the United States Department of Transportation emergency
135 medical technician or paramedic training curriculum or the
136 National EMS Education Standards as approved by the department
137 and hold a current certificate of successful course completion
138 in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or advanced cardiac life
139 support for emergency medical technicians or paramedics,
140 respectively, to be eligible for the certification examination.
141 The applicant must successfully complete the certification
142 examination within 1 year after the date of the receipt of his
143 or her application by the department. After 1 year, the
144 applicant must submit a new application, meet all eligibility
145 requirements, and submit all fees to reestablish eligibility to
146 take the certification examination.
147 Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsection
148 (5) of section 401.2701, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
149 401.2701 Emergency medical services training programs.—
150 (1) Any private or public institution in Florida desiring
151 to conduct an approved program for the education of emergency
152 medical technicians and paramedics shall:
153 (a) Submit a completed application on a form provided by
154 the department, which must include:
155 1. Evidence that the institution is in compliance with all
156 applicable requirements of the Department of Education.
157 2. Evidence of an affiliation agreement with a hospital
158 that has an emergency department staffed by at least one
159 physician and one registered nurse.
160 3. Evidence of an affiliation agreement with a current
161 Florida-licensed emergency medical services provider that is
162 licensed in this state. Such agreement shall include, at a
163 minimum, a commitment by the provider to conduct the field
164 experience portion of the education program.
165 4. Documentation verifying faculty, including:
166 a. A medical director who is a licensed physician meeting
167 the applicable requirements for emergency medical services
168 medical directors as outlined in this chapter and rules of the
169 department. The medical director shall have the duty and
170 responsibility of certifying that graduates have successfully
171 completed all phases of the education program and are proficient
172 in basic or advanced life support techniques, as applicable.
173 b. A program director responsible for the operation,
174 organization, periodic review, administration, development, and
175 approval of the program.
176 5. Documentation verifying that the curriculum:
177 a. Meets the course guides and instructor’s lesson plans in
178 the most recent Emergency Medical Technician-Basic National
179 Standard Curricula or the National EMS Education Standards for
180 emergency medical technician programs and paramedic Emergency
181 Medical Technician-Paramedic National Standard Curricula for
182 paramedic programs as approved by the department.
183 b. Includes 2 hours of instruction on the trauma scorecard
184 methodologies for assessment of adult trauma patients and
185 pediatric trauma patients as specified by the department by
186 rule.
187 c. Includes 4 hours of instruction on HIV/AIDS training
188 consistent with the requirements of chapter 381.
189 6. Evidence of sufficient medical and educational equipment
190 to meet emergency medical services training program needs.
191 (5) Each approved program must notify the department within
192 30 days after of any change in the professional or employment
193 status of faculty. Each approved program must require its
194 students to pass a comprehensive final written and practical
195 examination evaluating the skills described in the current
196 United States Department of Transportation EMT-Basic or EMT
197 Paramedic, National Standard Curriculum or the National EMS
198 Education Standards as approved by the department. Each approved
199 program must issue a certificate of completion to program
200 graduates within 14 days after of completion.
201 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.