State of Illinois
92^nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_HB0279enr

 
HB0279 Enrolled                                LRB9203773LDpr

 1        AN ACT concerning emergency medical dispatches.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section    90.   The  Emergency  Medical  Services  (EMS)
 5    Systems Act is amended by changing Section 3.70 as follows:

 6        (210 ILCS 50/3.70)
 7        Sec. 3.70.  Emergency Medical Dispatcher.
 8        (a)  "Emergency Medical Dispatcher" means  a  person  who
 9    has  successfully  completed  a  training course in emergency
10    medical dispatching course meeting or exceeding the  national
11    curriculum  of the United States Department of Transportation
12    in accordance with rules adopted by the  Department  pursuant
13    to  this Act, who accepts calls from the public for emergency
14    medical services and dispatches designated emergency  medical
15    services  personnel  and  vehicles.   The  Emergency  Medical
16    Dispatcher must use the Department-approved emergency medical
17    dispatch priority reference system (EMDPRS) protocol selected
18    for  use  by  its  agency  and  approved  by  its EMS medical
19    director.  This protocol must be used by an emergency medical
20    dispatcher  in  an  emergency  medical  dispatch  agency   to
21    dispatch   aid   to   medical   emergencies   which  includes
22    systematized  caller  interrogation  questions;  systematized
23    prearrival  support  instructions;  and  systematized  coding
24    protocols that  match  the  dispatcher's  evaluation  of  the
25    injury or illness severity with the vehicle response mode and
26    vehicle  response  configuration  and includes an appropriate
27    training curriculum and testing process consistent  with  the
28    specific  EMDPRS  protocol  used  by  the  emergency  medical
29    dispatch  agency.   Prearrival  support instructions shall be
30    provided in a non-discretionary manner and shall be  provided
31    in  accordance with the EMDPRS established by the EMS medical
 
HB0279 Enrolled            -2-                 LRB9203773LDpr
 1    director of the EMS system in which the EMD operates. may  or
 2    may  not  provide  prearrival  medical  instructions  to  the
 3    caller,  at  the  discretion  of  the  entity  or agency that
 4    employs  him.  Such  instructions  shall   be   provided   in
 5    accordance  with  protocols  established  by  the EMS Medical
 6    Director of the EMS System in which the dispatcher  operates.
 7    If   the  dispatcher  operates  under  the  authority  of  an
 8    Emergency  Telephone  System  Board  established  under   the
 9    Emergency  Telephone  System  Act,  the  protocols  shall  be
10    established  by  such  Board  in  consultation  with  the EMS
11    Medical Director.   Persons  who  have  already  completed  a
12    course of instruction in emergency medical dispatch based on,
13    equivalent  to  or  exceeding  the national curriculum of the
14    United States Department of Transportation, or  as  otherwise
15    approved  by  the  Department,  shall be considered Emergency
16    Medical Dispatchers on the effective date of this  amendatory
17    Act.
18        (b)  The   Department   shall   have  the  authority  and
19    responsibility to:
20             (1)  Require certification and recertification of  a
21        person  who  meets the training and other requirements as
22        an emergency medical dispatcher pursuant to this Act.
23             (2)  Require certification and recertification of  a
24        person,  organization, or government agency that operates
25        an emergency  medical  dispatch  agency  that  meets  the
26        minimum  standards  prescribed  by  the Department for an
27        emergency medical dispatch agency pursuant to this Act.
28             (3) (1)  Prescribe minimum education and  continuing
29        education   requirements   for   the   Emergency  Medical
30        Dispatcher, which meet or exceed the national  curriculum
31        of   the  United  States  Department  of  Transportation,
32        through rules adopted pursuant to this Act.;
33             (4)  Require each EMD and EMD agency  to  report  to
34        the  Department  whenever  an action has taken place that
 
HB0279 Enrolled            -3-                 LRB9203773LDpr
 1        may require the revocation or suspension of a certificate
 2        issued by the Department.
 3             (5)  Require  each   EMD   to   provide   prearrival
 4        instructions  in  compliance  with protocols selected and
 5        approved  by  the  system's  EMS  medical  director   and
 6        approved by the Department.
 7             (2)  Require  the  Emergency  Medical  Dispatcher to
 8        notify the Department of the EMS System(s)  in  which  he
 9        operates;
10             (3)  Require  the  Emergency  Medical Dispatcher who
11        provides prearrival instructions  to  callers  to  comply
12        with  the  protocols for such instructions established by
13        the  EMS  Medical  Director(s)  and  Emergency  Telephone
14        System Board or Boards, or in the absence of an Emergency
15        Telephone System Board or Boards the governmental  agency
16        performing  the  duties  of an Emergency Telephone System
17        Board or Boards, of the EMS System or Systems in which he
18        operates;
19             (6) (4)  Require the Emergency Medical Dispatcher to
20        keep the Department currently informed as to  the  entity
21        or agency that employs or supervises his activities as an
22        Emergency Medical Dispatcher.;
23             (5)  Establish   a  mechanism  for  phasing  in  the
24        Emergency  Medical   Dispatcher   requirements   over   a
25        five-year period;
26             (7)  Establish an annual recertification requirement
27        that    requires   at   least   12   hours   of   medical
28        dispatch-specific continuing education each year.
29             (8)  Approve all EMDPRS protocols used by  emergency
30        medical  dispatch  agencies  to  assure  compliance  with
31        national standards.
32             (9)  Require   that   Department-approved  emergency
33        medical  dispatch  training  programs  are  conducted  in
34        accordance with national standards.
 
HB0279 Enrolled            -4-                 LRB9203773LDpr
 1             (10)  Require that the  emergency  medical  dispatch
 2        agency be operated in accordance with national standards,
 3        including,  but  not  limited  to,  (i)  the use on every
 4        request for medical assistance of  an  emergency  medical
 5        dispatch priority reference system (EMDPRS) in accordance
 6        with Department-approved policies and procedures and (ii)
 7        under  the  approval  and  supervision of the EMS medical
 8        director,  the  establishment  of  a  continuous  quality
 9        improvement program.
10             (11)  Require  that  a  person  may  not   represent
11        himself  or  herself,  nor  may  an  agency  or  business
12        represent   an  agent  or  employee  of  that  agency  or
13        business,  as  an  emergency  medical  dispatcher  unless
14        certified by  the  Department  as  an  emergency  medical
15        dispatcher.
16             (12)  Require   that   a  person,  organization,  or
17        government agency not represent itself  as  an  emergency
18        medical  dispatch agency unless the person, organization,
19        or government agency is certified by the Department as an
20        emergency medical dispatch agency.
21             (13)  Require  that  a  person,   organization,   or
22        government  agency  may  not  offer or conduct a training
23        course that is represented as a course for  an  emergency
24        medical  dispatcher  unless  the person, organization, or
25        agency is approved by the Department to offer or  conduct
26        that course.
27             (14)  Require   that  Department-approved  emergency
28        medical dispatcher training  programs  are  conducted  by
29        instructors licensed by the Department who:
30                  (i)  are,  at a minimum, certified as emergency
31             medical dispatchers;
32                  (ii)  have  completed   a   Department-approved
33             course on methods of instruction;
34                  (iii)  have  previous  experience  in a medical
 
HB0279 Enrolled            -5-                 LRB9203773LDpr
 1             dispatch agency; and
 2                  (iv)  have demonstrated experience  as  an  EMS
 3             instructor.
 4             (15) (6)  Establish   criteria   for   modifying  or
 5        waiving Emergency Medical Dispatcher  requirements  based
 6        on (i) the scope and frequency of dispatch activities and
 7        the  dispatcher's  access to training or (ii) whether the
 8        previously-attended dispatcher  training  program  merits
 9        automatic recertification for the dispatcher.
10    (Source: P.A. 89-177, eff. 7-19-95.)

11        Section  99.   Effective  date.  This Act takes effect on
12    January 1, 2002.

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