Florida Senate - 2012 CS for SB 450
By the Committee on Health Regulation; and Senator Oelrich
588-01570-12 2012450c1
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, paramedics, and 911
5 public safety telecommunicators to complete an
6 educational course on the modes of transmission,
7 infection control procedures, clinical management, and
8 prevention of human immunodeficiency virus and
9 acquired immune deficiency syndrome; amending s.
10 401.23, F.S.; redefining the term “basic life support”
11 for purposes of the Raymond H. Alexander, M.D.,
12 Emergency Medical Transportation Services Act;
13 amending s. 401.24, F.S.; revising the period for
14 review of the comprehensive state plan for emergency
15 medical services and programs; amending s. 401.27,
16 F.S.; revising the requirements for certification or
17 recertification as an emergency medical technician or
18 paramedic; revising the requirements for certification
19 for an out-of-state trained emergency medical
20 technician or paramedic; amending s. 401.2701, F.S.;
21 revising requirements for an institution that conducts
22 an approved program for the education of emergency
23 medical technicians and paramedics; revising the
24 requirements that students must meet in order to
25 receive a certificate of completion from an approved
26 program; providing an 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 require
34 each person licensed or certified under chapter 401, chapter
35 467, part IV of chapter 468, or chapter 483, as a condition of
36 biennial relicensure, to complete an educational course approved
37 by the department on the modes of transmission, infection
38 control procedures, clinical management, and prevention of human
39 immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
40 Such course shall include information on current state Florida
41 law on acquired immune deficiency syndrome and its impact on
42 testing, confidentiality of test results, and treatment of
43 patients. Each such licensee or certificateholder shall submit
44 confirmation of having completed the said course, on a form
45 provided by the department, when submitting fees or application
46 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, and as approved by the department.
61 The term “basic life support” also includes other techniques
62 that 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 standard curriculum or National EMS Education Standards
98 emergency medical technician basic training course of the United
99 States Department of Transportation, and as approved by the
100 department;
101 2. For a paramedic, a paramedic training program equivalent
102 to the most recent national standard curriculum or National EMS
103 Education Standards paramedic course of the United States
104 Department of Transportation, and as approved by the department;
105 (b) Certify under oath that he or she is not addicted to
106 alcohol or any controlled substance;
107 (c) Certify under oath that he or she is free from any
108 physical or mental defect or disease that might impair the
109 applicant’s ability to perform his or her duties;
110 (d) Within 2 years 1 year after course completion have
111 passed an examination developed or required by the department;
112 (e)1. For an emergency medical technician, hold either a
113 current American Heart Association cardiopulmonary resuscitation
114 course card or an American Red Cross cardiopulmonary
115 resuscitation course card or its equivalent as defined by
116 department rule;
117 2. For a paramedic, hold a certificate of successful course
118 completion in advanced cardiac life support from the American
119 Heart Association or its equivalent as defined by department
120 rule;
121 (f) Submit the certification fee and the nonrefundable
122 examination fee prescribed in s. 401.34, which examination fee
123 will be required for each examination administered to an
124 applicant; and
125 (g) Submit a completed application to the department, which
126 application documents compliance with paragraphs (a), (b), (c),
127 (e), (f), (g), and, if applicable, (d). The application must be
128 submitted so as to be received by the department at least 30
129 calendar days before the next regularly scheduled examination
130 for which the applicant desires to be scheduled.
131 (12) An applicant for certification who is an out-of-state
132 trained emergency medical technician or paramedic must provide
133 proof of current emergency medical technician or paramedic
134 certification or registration based upon successful completion
135 of the United States Department of Transportation emergency
136 medical technician or paramedic training curriculum or the
137 National EMS Education Standards, and as approved by the
138 department, and hold a current certificate of successful course
139 completion in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or advanced
140 cardiac life support for emergency medical technicians or
141 paramedics, respectively, to be eligible for the certification
142 examination. The applicant must successfully complete the
143 certification examination within 1 year after the date of the
144 receipt of his or her application by the department. After 1
145 year, the applicant must submit a new application, meet all
146 eligibility requirements, and submit all fees to reestablish
147 eligibility to take the certification examination.
148 Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsection
149 (5) of section 401.2701, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
150 401.2701 Emergency medical services training programs.—
151 (1) Any private or public institution in Florida desiring
152 to conduct an approved program for the education of emergency
153 medical technicians and paramedics shall:
154 (a) Submit a completed application on a form provided by
155 the department, which must include:
156 1. Evidence that the institution is in compliance with all
157 applicable requirements of the Department of Education.
158 2. Evidence of an affiliation agreement with a hospital
159 that has an emergency department staffed by at least one
160 physician and one registered nurse.
161 3. Evidence of an affiliation agreement with a current
162 Florida-licensed emergency medical services provider that is
163 licensed in this state. Such agreement shall include, at a
164 minimum, a commitment by the provider to conduct the field
165 experience portion of the education program.
166 4. Documentation verifying faculty, including:
167 a. A medical director who is a licensed physician meeting
168 the applicable requirements for emergency medical services
169 medical directors as outlined in this chapter and rules of the
170 department. The medical director shall have the duty and
171 responsibility of certifying that graduates have successfully
172 completed all phases of the education program and are proficient
173 in basic or advanced life support techniques, as applicable.
174 b. A program director responsible for the operation,
175 organization, periodic review, administration, development, and
176 approval of the program.
177 5. Documentation verifying that the curriculum:
178 a. Meets the course guides and instructor’s lesson plans in
179 the most recent Emergency Medical Technician-Basic National
180 Standard Curricula or the National EMS Education Standards for
181 emergency medical technician programs and Emergency Medical
182 Technician-Paramedic National Standard Curricula or the National
183 EMS Education Standards for paramedic programs, and as approved
184 by the department.
185 b. Includes 2 hours of instruction on the trauma scorecard
186 methodologies for assessment of adult trauma patients and
187 pediatric trauma patients as specified by the department by
188 rule.
189 c. Includes 4 hours of instruction on HIV/AIDS training
190 consistent with the requirements of chapter 381.
191 6. Evidence of sufficient medical and educational equipment
192 to meet emergency medical services training program needs.
193 (5) Each approved program must notify the department within
194 30 days after of any change in the professional or employment
195 status of faculty. Each approved program must require its
196 students to pass a comprehensive final written and practical
197 examination evaluating the skills described in the current
198 United States Department of Transportation EMT-Basic or EMT
199 Paramedic, National Standard Curriculum or the National EMS
200 Education Standards, and as approved by the department. Each
201 approved program must issue a certificate of completion to
202 program graduates within 14 days after of completion.
203 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.