Report Title:

Emergency Medical Services

Description:

Allows the Department to include emergency aeromedical services as part of the State comprehensive emergency medical services system subject to the availability of funding.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2481

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Section 321-223, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§321-223[]] State comprehensive emergency medical services system, establishment. The department [of health] shall establish, administer, and maintain the state comprehensive emergency medical services system to serve the emergency health needs of the people of the State. The department [of health] in the implementation of this part shall plan, coordinate, and provide assistance to all entities and agencies, public and private, involved in the state system. All emergency medical services or ambulance services conducted by or under the authority of the department [of health] or any county shall be consistent with this part. The department may include emergency aeromedical services as part of the state comprehensive emergency medical services system subject to the availability of funding."

SECTION 2. Section 321-224, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) In addition to other functions and duties assigned under this part, the department shall:

(1) Regulate ambulances and ambulance services;

(2) Establish emergency medical services throughout the State, [including emergency aeromedical services,] which shall meet the requirements of this part, subject to section 321-228;

(3) Review and approve the curricula and syllabi of training courses offered to emergency medical services personnel who provide basic, intermediate, and advanced life support, consult and coordinate with the University of Hawaii, or any other accredited community college, college, or university, or any professional organization that provides emergency medical services training, regarding the training for basic, intermediate, and advanced life support personnel, as provided in section 321-229;

(4) Collect and evaluate data for the continued evaluation of the state system, subject to section 321-230;

(5) Coordinate emergency medical resources and the allocation of the state system's services and facilities in the event of mass casualties, natural disasters, national emergencies, and other emergencies, ensuring linkage to local, state, and national disaster plans, and participation in exercises to test these plans;

(6) Establish, administer, and maintain a communication system for the state system;

(7) Assist each county in the development of a "911" emergency telephone system;

(8) Secure technical assistance and other assistance and consultation necessary for the implementation of this part, subject to section 321-230;

(9) Implement public information and education programs to inform the public of the state system and its use, and disseminate other emergency medical information, including appropriate methods of medical self-help and first-aid, and the availability of first-aid training programs in the State;

(10) Establish standards and provide training for dispatchers in the state system, and maintain a program of quality assurance for dispatch equipment and operations;

(11) Establish a program that will enable emergency service personnel to provide early defibrillation;

(12) Establish within the department the emergency medical service system for children;

(13) Consult with the advisory committee on matters relating to the implementation of this part; and

(14) Establish and maintain standards for emergency medical services course instructor qualifications and requirements for emergency medical services training facilities."

SECTION 3. Section 321-230, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (b) and (c) to read as follows:

"(b) The department [shall] may, subject to the availability of funding, establish, administer, and maintain an aeromedical emergency medical services system designed to collect and analyze data to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of each phase of an emergency aeromedical program.

The aeromedical emergency medical services system shall, subject to the availability of funding, serve the emergency health needs of the people of the State by identifying:

(1) The system's strengths and weaknesses;

(2) The allocation of resources; and

(3) The development of rotary-wing emergency aeromedical services standards;

provided that emergency helicopter use, including triage protocols, shall be based on national aeromedical triage and transport guidelines established by the Association of Air Medical Services, the American College of Surgeons, and the National Association of Emergency Medical Service Physicians. The department, in the implementation of this subsection, shall plan, coordinate, and provide assistance to all entities and agencies, public and private, involved in the system.

(c) The department [shall] may use an emergency aeromedical services quality improvement committee comprised of representatives of trauma, emergency, and tertiary care physicians and providers to analyze information collected from the aeromedical quality improvement performance measures as established by the American College of Surgeons, and to recommend system standards and resources to maintain and improve the Hawaii emergency aeromedical services system."

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

BY REQUEST