Senate Bill No. 25
(By Senator Hunter)
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[Introduced January 9, 2002; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section eight, article four-c,
chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to allowing
credit for emergency services continuing education courses
taken in other states as long as the other state allows its
emergency service personnel credit for courses taken in
this state.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight, article four-c, chapter sixteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4C. EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ACT.
§16-4C-8. Standards for emergency medical service personnel.
(a) Every ambulance operated by an emergency medical service agency shall carry at least two personnel. At least one person
shall be certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation or first aid
and the person in the patient-compartment shall be certified as
an emergency medical technician-basic at a minimum, except that
in the case of a specialized multipatient medical transport,
only one staff person is required and that person shall be
certified, at a minimum, at the level of an emergency medical
technician-basic.(b) As a minimum the training for each class
of emergency medical service personnel shall include:
(1) Emergency medical service attendant: Shall have earned
and possess valid certificates from the department or by
authorities recognized and approved by the commissioner;
(2) Emergency medical technician-basic: Shall have
successfully completed the course for certification as an
emergency medical technician-basic as established by the
commissioner or authorities recognized and approved by the
commissioner; and
(3) Emergency medical technician-paramedic: Shall have
successfully completed the course for certification as an
emergency medical technician-paramedic established by the
commissioner or authorities recognized and approved by the
commissioner.
The foregoing may not be considered to limit the power of the commissioner to prescribe training, certification and
recertification standards.
(c) Any person desiring emergency medical service personnel
certification shall apply to the commissioner using forms and
procedures prescribed by the commissioner. Upon receipt of the
application, the commissioner shall determine whether the
applicant meets the certification requirements and may examine
the applicant, if necessary to make that determination. If it
is determined that the applicant meets all of the requirements,
the commissioner shall issue an appropriate emergency medical
service personnel certificate which shall be valid for a period
as determined by the commissioner.
State and county continuing education and recertification
programs for all levels of emergency medical service providers
shall be available to emergency medical service providers at a
convenient site within one hundred miles of the provider's
primary place of operation at sites determined by the regional
emergency medical services offices. The continuing education
program shall be provided at a cost specified in a fee schedule
to be promulgated by legislative rule in accordance with the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
by the division of health to all nonprofit emergency medical
service personnel. Continuing education credits received in other states by medical service personnel licensed in this state
shall be fully credited as if received from an in-state approved
program, to the extent the state where the credits were received
allows credit for continuing education courses taken by its
licensed emergency service personnel in this state.
(d) The commissioner may issue a temporary emergency medical
service personnel certificate to an applicant, with or without
examination of the applicant, when he or she finds that issuance
to be in the public interest. Unless suspended or revoked, a
temporary certificate shall be valid initially for a period not
exceeding one hundred twenty days and may not be renewed unless
the commissioner finds the renewal to be in the public interest.
The expiration date of a temporary certificate shall be extended
until the holder is afforded at least one opportunity to take an
emergency medical service personnel training course within the
general area where he or she serves as an emergency medical
service personnel, but the expiration date may not be extended
for any longer period of time or for any other reason.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow EMS personnel to
receive credit for continuing education courses taken in other
states as long as the other state allows its EMS personnel
continuing education credit for courses taken in this state.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.