SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for SB 338
    Amendment No. 1   Barcode 742710
                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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11  The Committee on Governmental Oversight and Productivity
12  recommended the following amendment:
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14         Senate Amendment 
15         On page 1, line 18, through page 3, line 12, delete
16  those lines
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18  and insert:  medical emergency when someone dials 911 or calls
19  a medical dispatch agency directly, and dispatchers are being
20  recognized nationally as the true first responders to the
21  emergency scene, and
22         WHEREAS, an emergency medical dispatcher has an
23  immediate response time during which to offer basic
24  instructions to the caller regardless of the emergency medical
25  services response time and is crucial for the delivery and
26  receipt of information to EMS units, and
27         WHEREAS, an emergency medical dispatch program is a key
28  component of a quality EMS system, and
29         WHEREAS, organizations such as the American Heart
30  Association (AHA), the American College of Emergency
31  Physicians (ACEP), the National Association of Emergency
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    3:14 PM   04/22/03                                 s0338.go.01


                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for SB 338
    Amendment No. 1   Barcode 742710
 1  Medical Services Physicians (NAEMSP), the National Institute
 2  of Health (NIH), the National Highway Traffic Safety
 3  Administration (NHTSA), and the American Society of Testing
 4  and Materials (ASTM) have endorsed the development and
 5  adoption of standards for emergency medical dispatch, and
 6         WHEREAS, a properly trained emergency medical
 7  dispatcher significantly improves the quality of care provided
 8  by an EMS system because the dispatcher is able to identify
 9  the level of need of the caller, including resource
10  allocations and response modes, thus enabling more effective
11  and efficient dispatch of limited response resources; identify
12  situations that might require prearrival instructions; gather
13  information to be relayed to the responding crews to help them
14  better manage and respond to the emergency medical situation
15  upon arrival; and obtain information regarding emergency
16  medical scene safety for the patient, bystanders, and
17  responding personnel, and
18         WHEREAS, many states are now adopting a standard
19  emergency medical dispatch program, and
20         WHEREAS, the most successful EMS systems are those that
21  have strong field response times coupled with well-trained
22  emergency medical dispatchers, NOW,
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