Introduced Version
House Bill 2724 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2724
(By Delegates Staggers and Moye)
[Introduced February 25, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then the
Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §16-4C-8 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the Emergency Medical Services
A
ct; requiring ambulance operator be certified as Emergency
Medical Vehicle Operator; and requirements for application
renewal of emergency medical service personnel certificate.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-4C-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, 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 as
an Emergency Medical Vehicle Operator 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. The
requirements of this subsection will remain in effect until revised
by the legislative rule to be promulgated pursuant to subsection
(b) of this section.
(b) On or before May 28, 2010, the commissioner shall submit
a proposed legislative rule to the Emergency Medical Services
Advisory Council for review, and on or before June 30, 2010, shall
file the proposed legislative rule with the office of the Secretary
of State, in accordance with the provisions of chapter
twenty-nine-a, article three of this code, to establish
certification standards for emergency medical vehicle operators and
to revise the requirements for emergency medical service personnel.
(c) As of the effective date of the legislative rule to be
promulgated pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, emergency
medical service personnel who operate ambulances shall meet the
requirements set forth in the legislative rule.
(d) 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.
(e) The applicant shall submit to a national criminal
background check, the requirement of which is declared to be not
against public policy.
(1) The applicant shall meet all requirements necessary to
accomplish the national criminal background check, including
submitting fingerprints, and authorizing the West Virginia Office
of Emergency Medical Services, the West Virginia State Police and
the Federal Bureau of Investigation to use all records submitted
and produced for the purpose of screening the applicant for
certification.
(2) The results of the national criminal background check may
not be released to or by a private entity.
(3) The applicant shall submit a fee of $75 for initial
certification and a fee of $50 for recertification. The fees set
forth in this subsection remain in effect until modified by
legislative rule.
(f) An application for an original, renewal or temporary
emergency medical service personnel certificate or emergency
medical services agency license, shall be acted upon by the
commissioner and the certificate or license delivered or mailed, or
a copy of any order of the commissioner denying any such
application delivered or mailed to the applicant, within fifteen days after the date upon which the complete application including
test scores and background checks, if applicable, was received by
the commissioner.
(g) Applicants for renewal of an emergency medical service
personnel certificate possessing current National Registry
certification at the appropriate level or that have continuously
maintained West Virginia certification for five consecutive years
shall not be required to complete a state cognitive and skills
examinations provided they meet all other requirements for renewal.
EMS personnel whose West Virginia certification has lapsed for
greater than six months may be required by the commissioner to
complete a state cognitive and skills examination prior to renewal
of their certificate.
__________(h) Any person may report to the commissioner or the Director
of the Office of Emergency Medical Services information he or she
may have that appears to show that a person certified by the
commissioner may have violated the provisions of this article or
legislative rules promulgated pursuant to this article. A person
who is certified by the commissioner, who knows of or observes
another person certified by the commissioner violating the
provisions of this article or legislative rules promulgated
pursuant to this article, has a duty to report the violation to the
commissioner or director. Any person who reports or provides
information in good faith is immune from civil liability.
(h) (i) 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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to amend the Emergency
Medical Services Act to require that at least one emergency medical
personnel in every ambulance be certified as an Emergency Medical
Vehicle Operator, and to provide an exemption from a state
cognitive and skills examination for some medical service personnel
seeking certificate renewal.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.