As Introduced

129th General Assembly
Regular Session
2011-2012
H. B. No. 128


Representatives Carey, Peterson 

Cosponsors: Representatives Balderson, Combs, Kozlowski, Slaby, Hollington, Maag, Antonio, Boose, Grossman, Derickson, Amstutz 

A BILL
To amend sections 4765.07, 4765.43, and 4766.03 and 1
to repeal section 4765.431 of the Revised Code to 2
revise the requirements for staffing ambulances 3
and the priorities for distributing grants for 4
emergency medical services.5


BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1.  That sections 4765.07, 4765.43, and 4766.03 of 6
the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:7

       Sec. 4765.07.  (A) The state board of emergency medical 8
services shall adopt rules under section 4765.11 of the Revised 9
Code to establish and administer a grant program under which 10
grants are distributed according to the following priorities:11

       (1) First priority shall be given to emergency medical 12
service organizations for the training of personnel, for the 13
purchase of equipment and vehicles, and to improve the 14
availability, accessibility, and quality of emergency medical 15
services in this state. In this category, the board shall give 16
priority to grants that fund training and equipping of emergency 17
medical service personnel.18

       (2) Second priority shall be given to entities that research, 19
test, and evaluate medical procedures and systems related to adult 20
and pediatric trauma care.21

       (3) Third priority shall be given to entities that research 22
the causes, nature, and effects of traumatic injuries, educate the 23
public about injury prevention, and implement, test, and evaluate 24
injury prevention strategies.25

       (3) Third(4) Fourth priority shall be given to entities that 26
research, test, and evaluate procedures that promote the 27
rehabilitation, retraining, and reemployment of adult or pediatric 28
trauma victims and social service support mechanisms for adult or 29
pediatric trauma victims and their families.30

       (4) Fourth(5) Fifth priority shall be given to entities that 31
research, test, and evaluate medical procedures related to adult 32
and pediatric trauma careconduct research on, test, or evaluate 33
one or more of the following:34

       (a) Procedures governing the performance of emergency medical 35
services in this state;36

       (b) The training of emergency medical service personnel;37

       (c) The staffing of emergency medical service organizations.38

       (6) For grants distributed for the grant award years 39
occurring not later than the award year ending June 30, 2017, 40
sixth priority shall be given to entities that operate paramedic 41
training programs and are seeking national accreditation of the 42
programs.43

       (B) To be eligible for a grant distributed pursuant to 44
division (A)(6) of this section, an applicant for the grant shall 45
meet all of the following conditions:46

       (1) Hold a certificate of accreditation issued by the board 47
under section 4765.17 of the Revised Code to operate a paramedic 48
training program;49

       (2) Be seeking initial national accreditation of the program 50
from an accrediting organization approved by the board;51

       (3) Apply for the national accreditation on or after February 52
25, 2010.53

       (C) The grant program shall be funded from the trauma and 54
emergency medical services grants fund created by section 4513.263 55
of the Revised Code. 56

       Sec. 4765.43.  (A) A person who drives an ambulance that is 57
equipped for emergency medical services, is not required by this 58
chapter to be certified as an emergency medical technician-basic, 59
emergency medical technician-intermediate, or emergency medical 60
technician-paramedic.61

       (B)(1) During each emergency run made by an ambulance that is 62
equipped for emergency medical services and is operated by an 63
emergency medical service organization that does not utilize any 64
volunteer emergency medical service providers or does not 65
substantially utilize those providersDuring each emergency run 66
made by an ambulance that is equipped for emergency medical 67
services, the emergency medical service organization operating the 68
ambulance shall staff the ambulance in accordance with this 69
section.70

       For purposes of determining the applicable staffing 71
requirements, both of the following apply:72

       (1) An emergency run consists of components that are 73
distinguished between the period during which the ambulance is 74
traveling to the scene of an emergency and, if applicable, the 75
period during which the ambulance is transporting a patient from 76
the scene of the emergency.77

       (2) In the case of an emergency medical service organization 78
that utilizes a combination of volunteer and paid first 79
responders, emergency medical service technicians-basic, emergency 80
medical service technicians-intermediate, or emergency medical 81
service technicians-paramedic, the organization is considered to 82
be substantially utilizing volunteers in a particular week when 83
the paid individuals, taken as a whole, are scheduled for a total 84
of not more than one hundred sixty-eight hours in that week.85

       (B) With respect to the driver of an ambulance during an 86
emergency run, both of the following apply:87

       (1) The driver must be at least eighteen years of age.88

       (2) The driver must hold a certificate issued under section 89
4765.30 of the Revised Code to practice as a first responder, 90
EMT-basic, EMT-I, or paramedic or a fire training certificate 91
issued pursuant to section 4765.55 of the Revised Code to provide 92
services as a firefighter.93

       (C) With respect to the component of an emergency run during 94
which the ambulance is traveling to the scene of the emergency, 95
the ambulance shall be staffed by at least one EMT-basic, EMT-I, 96
or paramedic. This individual may serve as the driver.97

       (D) With respect to the component of an emergency run during 98
which a patient is being transported, the ambulance shall be 99
staffed as follows:100

       (1) If the emergency medical service organization utilizes 101
only paid individuals or utilizes volunteers on a basis that is 102
not considered to be substantially utilizing volunteers, the 103
ambulance shall be staffed by at least two EMTs-basic, EMTs-I, or 104
paramedics. When an ambulance is so staffed, it may be driven by a 105
person who is not certified as an EMT-basic, EMT-I, or paramedic106
One of these individuals may serve as the driver.107

       (2) During each emergency run made by an ambulance that is 108
equipped for emergency medical services and is operated by anIf 109
the emergency medical service organization thatis substantially 110
utilizes volunteer emergency medical service providersutilizing 111
volunteers or utilizes only volunteers, the ambulance shall be 112
staffed by at least two EMTs-basic, EMTs-I, or paramedics or by at 113
least one first responder and one EMT-basic, EMT-I, or paramedic. 114
When an ambulance is so staffed, it may be driven by a person who 115
is not certified as a first responder, EMT-basic, EMT-I, or 116
paramedic. If circumstances so require, an ambulance that is 117
staffed by only one first responder and one EMT-basic, EMT-I, or 118
paramedic may be driven by the first responder who is staffing the 119
ambulance with the EMT-basic, EMT-I, or paramedicOne of these 120
individuals may serve as the driver, but if the staffing 121
requirement is being met by utilizing a first responder, the first 122
responder shall serve as the driver.123

       (C) For purposes of division (B) of this section, an 124
emergency medical service organization substantially utilizes 125
volunteer emergency medical service providers if, on any given 126
date, for the six-month period immediately prior to that date, the 127
organization's daily average number of hours during which the 128
organization used only volunteer first responders, volunteer 129
EMTs-basic, volunteer EMTs-I, or volunteer paramedics, or a 130
combination of such volunteers, was fifty per cent or more of the 131
daily average number of hours that the organization made emergency 132
medical services available to the public.133

       Sec. 4766.03.  (A) The Ohio medical transportation board 134
shall adopt rules, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised 135
Code, implementing the requirements of this chapter. The rules 136
shall include provisions relating to the following:137

       (1) Requirements for an emergency medical service 138
organization to receive a permit for an ambulance or nontransport 139
vehicle;140

       (2) Requirements for an emergency medical service 141
organization to receive a license as a basic life-support, 142
intermediate life-support, advanced life-support, or mobile 143
intensive care unit organization;144

       (3) Requirements for a nonemergency medical service 145
organization to receive a permit for an ambulette vehicle;146

       (4) Requirements for a nonemergency medical service 147
organization to receive a license for an ambulette service;148

       (5) Requirements for an air medical service organization to 149
receive a permit for a rotorcraft air ambulance or fixed wing air 150
ambulance;151

       (6) Requirements for licensure of air medical service 152
organizations;153

       (7) Forms for applications and renewals of licenses and 154
permits;155

       (8) Requirements for record keeping of service responses made 156
by licensed emergency medical service organizations;157

       (9) Fee amounts for licenses and permits, and their renewals;158

       (10) Inspection requirements for licensees' vehicles or 159
aircraft, records, and physical facilities;160

       (11) Fee amounts for inspections of ambulances, ambulettes, 161
rotorcraft air ambulances, fixed wing air ambulances, and 162
nontransport vehicles;163

       (12) Requirements for ambulances and nontransport vehicles 164
used by licensed emergency medical service organizations, for 165
ambulette vehicles used by licensed nonemergency medical service 166
organizations, and for rotorcraft air ambulances or fixed wing air 167
ambulances used by licensed air medical service organizations that 168
specify for each type of vehicle or aircraft the types of 169
equipment that must be carried, the communication systems that 170
must be maintained, and the personnel who must staff the vehicle 171
or aircraft;172

       (13) The level of care each type of emergency medical service 173
organization, nonemergency medical service organization, and air 174
medical service organization is authorized to provide;175

       (14) Eligibility requirements for employment as an ambulette 176
driver, including grounds for disqualification due to the results 177
of a motor vehicle law violation check, chemical test, or criminal 178
records check. The rule may require that an applicant for 179
employment as an ambulette driver provide a set of fingerprints to 180
law enforcement authorities if the applicant comes under final 181
consideration for employment.182

       (15) Any other rules that the board determines necessary for 183
the implementation and enforcement of this chapter.184

       (B) In the rules for ambulances and nontransport vehicles 185
adopted under division (A)(12) of this section, the board may 186
establish requirements that vary according to whether the 187
emergency medical service organization using the vehicles is 188
licensed as a basic life-support, intermediate life-support, 189
advanced life-support, or mobile intensive care unit organization.190

       (C) A mobile intensive care unit that is not dually certified 191
to provide advanced life-support and meets the requirements of the 192
rules adopted under this section is not required to carry 193
immobilization equipment, including board splint kits, traction 194
splints, backboards, backboard straps, cervical immobilization 195
devices, cervical collars, stair chairs, folding cots, or other 196
types of immobilization equipment determined by the board to be 197
unnecessary for mobile intensive care units.198

       A mobile intensive care unit is exempt from the emergency 199
medical technician staffing requirements of division (B) of200
section 4765.43 of the Revised Code when it is staffed by at least 201
one physician or registered nurse and another person, designated 202
by a physician, who holds a valid license or certificate to 203
practice in a health care profession, and when at least one of the 204
persons staffing the mobile intensive care unit is a registered 205
nurse whose training meets or exceeds the training required for a 206
paramedic.207

       Section 2.  That existing sections 4765.07, 4765.43, and 208
4766.03 and section 4765.431 of the Revised Code are hereby 209
repealed.210