Florida Senate - 2013 SB 520
By Senator Bradley
7-00941-13 2013520__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to emergency medical services;
3 amending s. 381.0034, F.S.; deleting a requirement
4 that emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and
5 911 public safety telecommunicators complete an
6 educational course on HIV and AIDS; amending s.
7 401.23, F.S.; redefining the terms “basic life
8 support” and “advanced life support” for purposes of
9 the Raymond H. Alexander, M.D., Emergency Medical
10 Transportation Services Act; amending s. 401.24, F.S.;
11 revising the period for review of the comprehensive
12 state plan for emergency medical services and
13 programs; amending s. 401.27, F.S.; revising
14 requirements for the certification and recertification
15 of emergency medical technicians and paramedics;
16 revising requirements for the certification of
17 emergency medical technicians and paramedics trained
18 outside the state; revising the time limit by which
19 applicants trained outside the state must complete the
20 certification examination without having to submit a
21 new application and meet all eligibility and fee
22 requirements; amending s. 401.2701, F.S.; revising
23 requirements for institutions that conduct approved
24 programs for the education of emergency medical
25 technicians and paramedics; revising requirements that
26 students must meet in order to receive a certificate
27 of completion from an approved program; providing an
28 effective date.
29
30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
31
32 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 381.0034, Florida
33 Statutes, is amended to read:
34 381.0034 Requirement for instruction on HIV and AIDS.—
35 (1) The Department of Health shall require each person
36 licensed or certified under chapter 401, chapter 467, part IV of
37 chapter 468, or chapter 483, as a condition of biennial
38 relicensure, to complete an educational course approved by the
39 department on the modes of transmission, infection control
40 procedures, clinical management, and prevention of human
41 immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
42 Such course shall include information on current state Florida
43 law on acquired immune deficiency syndrome and its impact on
44 testing, confidentiality of test results, and treatment of
45 patients. Each such licensee or certificateholder shall submit
46 confirmation of having completed the said course, on a form
47 provided by the department, when submitting fees or application
48 for each biennial renewal.
49 Section 2. Subsections (1) and (7) of section 401.23,
50 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
51 401.23 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term:
52 (1) “Advanced life support” means assessment or treatment
53 by a person qualified under this part of life-threatening
54 medical emergencies through the use of techniques such as
55 endotracheal intubation, the administration of drugs or
56 intravenous fluids, telemetry, cardiac monitoring, and cardiac
57 defibrillation, and other techniques described in the EMT
58 Paramedic National Standard Curriculum or the National EMS
59 Education Standards by a qualified person, pursuant to rules of
60 the department.
61 (7) “Basic life support” means the assessment or treatment
62 by a person qualified under this part of medical emergencies by
63 a qualified person through the use of techniques such as patient
64 assessment, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), splinting,
65 obstetrical assistance, bandaging, administration of oxygen,
66 application of medical antishock trousers, administration of a
67 subcutaneous injection using a premeasured autoinjector of
68 epinephrine to a person suffering an anaphylactic reaction, and
69 other techniques described in the EMT-Basic National Standard
70 Emergency Medical Technician Basic Training Course Curriculum or
71 the National EMS Education Standards of the United States
72 Department of Transportation and approved by the department. The
73 term “basic life support” also includes the administration of
74 oxygen and other techniques that which have been approved and
75 are performed under conditions specified by rules of the
76 department.
77 Section 3. Section 401.24, Florida Statutes, is amended to
78 read:
79 401.24 Emergency medical services state plan.—The
80 department is responsible, at a minimum, for the improvement and
81 regulation of basic and advanced life support programs. The
82 department shall develop, and biennially revise every 5 years, a
83 comprehensive state plan for basic and advanced life support
84 services, the emergency medical services grants program, trauma
85 centers, the injury control program, and medical disaster
86 preparedness. The state plan shall include, but need not be
87 limited to:
88 (1) Emergency medical systems planning, including the
89 prehospital and hospital phases of patient care, and injury
90 control effort and unification of such services into a total
91 delivery system to include air, water, and land services.
92 (2) Requirements for the operation, coordination, and
93 ongoing development of emergency medical services, which
94 includes: basic life support or advanced life support vehicles,
95 equipment, and supplies; communications; personnel; training;
96 public education; state trauma system; injury control; and other
97 medical care components.
98 (3) The definition of areas of responsibility for
99 regulating and planning the ongoing and developing delivery
100 service requirements.
101 Section 4. Subsections (4) and (12) of section 401.27,
102 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
103 401.27 Personnel; standards and certification.—
104 (4) An applicant for certification or recertification as an
105 emergency medical technician or paramedic must:
106 (a) Have completed an appropriate training program course
107 as follows:
108 1. For an emergency medical technician, an emergency
109 medical technician training program approved by the department
110 as course equivalent to the most recent EMT-Basic National
111 Standard Curriculum or the National EMS Education Standards
112 emergency medical technician basic training course of the United
113 States Department of Transportation as approved by the
114 department;
115 2. For a paramedic, a paramedic training program approved
116 by the department as equivalent to the most recent EMT-Paramedic
117 National Standard Curriculum or the National EMS Education
118 Standards paramedic course of the United States Department of
119 Transportation as approved by the department;
120 (b) Certify under oath that he or she is not addicted to
121 alcohol or any controlled substance;
122 (c) Certify under oath that he or she is free from any
123 physical or mental defect or disease that might impair the
124 applicant’s ability to perform his or her duties;
125 (d) Within 2 years 1 year after program course completion
126 have passed an examination developed or required by the
127 department;
128 (e)1. For an emergency medical technician, hold either a
129 current American Heart Association cardiopulmonary resuscitation
130 course card or an American Red Cross cardiopulmonary
131 resuscitation course card or its equivalent as defined by
132 department rule;
133 2. For a paramedic, hold a certificate of successful course
134 completion in advanced cardiac life support from the American
135 Heart Association or its equivalent as defined by department
136 rule;
137 (f) Submit the certification fee and the nonrefundable
138 examination fee prescribed in s. 401.34, which examination fee
139 will be required for each examination administered to an
140 applicant; and
141 (g) Submit a completed application to the department, which
142 application documents compliance with paragraphs (a), (b), (c),
143 (e), (f), (g), and, if applicable, (d). The application must be
144 submitted so as to be received by the department at least 30
145 calendar days before the next regularly scheduled examination
146 for which the applicant desires to be scheduled.
147 (12) An applicant for certification as who is an out-of
148 state trained emergency medical technician or paramedic who is
149 trained outside the state must provide proof of current
150 emergency medical technician or paramedic certification or
151 registration based upon successful completion of a training
152 program approved by the department as equivalent to the most
153 recent EMT-Basic or EMT-Paramedic National Standard Curriculum
154 or the National EMS Education Standards of the United States
155 Department of Transportation emergency medical technician or
156 paramedic training curriculum and hold a current certificate of
157 successful course completion in cardiopulmonary resuscitation
158 (CPR) or advanced cardiac life support for emergency medical
159 technicians or paramedics, respectively, to be eligible for the
160 certification examination. The applicant must successfully
161 complete the certification examination within 2 years 1 year
162 after the date of the receipt of his or her application by the
163 department. After 2 years 1 year, the applicant must submit a
164 new application, meet all eligibility requirements, and submit
165 all fees to reestablish eligibility to take the certification
166 examination.
167 Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsection
168 (5) of section 401.2701, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
169 401.2701 Emergency medical services training programs.—
170 (1) Any private or public institution in Florida desiring
171 to conduct an approved program for the education of emergency
172 medical technicians and paramedics shall:
173 (a) Submit a completed application on a form provided by
174 the department, which must include:
175 1. Evidence that the institution is in compliance with all
176 applicable requirements of the Department of Education.
177 2. Evidence of an affiliation agreement with a hospital
178 that has an emergency department staffed by at least one
179 physician and one registered nurse.
180 3. Evidence of an affiliation agreement with a current
181 Florida-licensed emergency medical services provider that is
182 licensed in this state. Such agreement shall include, at a
183 minimum, a commitment by the provider to conduct the field
184 experience portion of the education program.
185 4. Documentation verifying faculty, including:
186 a. A medical director who is a licensed physician meeting
187 the applicable requirements for emergency medical services
188 medical directors as outlined in this chapter and rules of the
189 department. The medical director shall have the duty and
190 responsibility of certifying that graduates have successfully
191 completed all phases of the education program and are proficient
192 in basic or advanced life support techniques, as applicable.
193 b. A program director responsible for the operation,
194 organization, periodic review, administration, development, and
195 approval of the program.
196 5. Documentation verifying that the curriculum:
197 a. Meets the course guides and instructor’s lesson plans in
198 the most recent Emergency Medical Technician-Basic National
199 Standard Curriculum or the National EMS Education Standards
200 approved by the department Curricula for emergency medical
201 technician programs and Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic
202 National Standard Curriculum or the National EMS Education
203 Standards approved by the department Curricula for paramedic
204 programs.
205 b. Includes 2 hours of instruction on the trauma scorecard
206 methodologies for assessment of adult trauma patients and
207 pediatric trauma patients as specified by the department by
208 rule.
209 c. Includes 4 hours of instruction on HIV/AIDS training
210 consistent with the requirements of chapter 381.
211 6. Evidence of sufficient medical and educational equipment
212 to meet emergency medical services training program needs.
213 (5) Each approved program must notify the department within
214 30 days after of any change in the professional or employment
215 status of faculty. Each approved program must require its
216 students to pass a comprehensive final written and practical
217 examination evaluating the skills described in the current
218 United States Department of Transportation EMT-Basic or EMT
219 Paramedic, National Standard Curriculum or the National EMS
220 Education Standards and approved by the department. Each
221 approved program must issue a certificate of completion to
222 program graduates within 14 days after of completion.
223 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.