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Public Act 92-0506
HB0279 Re-Enrolled LRB9203773LDpr
AN ACT concerning emergency medical dispatches.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 90. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
Systems Act is amended by changing Section 3.70 as follows:
(210 ILCS 50/3.70)
Sec. 3.70. Emergency Medical Dispatcher.
(a) "Emergency Medical Dispatcher" means a person who
has successfully completed a training course in emergency
medical dispatching course meeting or exceeding the national
curriculum of the United States Department of Transportation
in accordance with rules adopted by the Department pursuant
to this Act, who accepts calls from the public for emergency
medical services and dispatches designated emergency medical
services personnel and vehicles. The Emergency Medical
Dispatcher must use the Department-approved emergency medical
dispatch priority reference system (EMDPRS) protocol selected
for use by its agency and approved by its EMS medical
director. This protocol must be used by an emergency medical
dispatcher in an emergency medical dispatch agency to
dispatch aid to medical emergencies which includes
systematized caller interrogation questions; systematized
prearrival support instructions; and systematized coding
protocols that match the dispatcher's evaluation of the
injury or illness severity with the vehicle response mode and
vehicle response configuration and includes an appropriate
training curriculum and testing process consistent with the
specific EMDPRS protocol used by the emergency medical
dispatch agency. Prearrival support instructions shall be
provided in a non-discriminatory manner and shall be provided
in accordance with the EMDPRS established by the EMS medical
director of the EMS system in which the EMD operates. may or
may not provide prearrival medical instructions to the
caller, at the discretion of the entity or agency that
employs him. Such instructions shall be provided in
accordance with protocols established by the EMS Medical
Director of the EMS System in which the dispatcher operates.
If the dispatcher operates under the authority of an
Emergency Telephone System Board established under the
Emergency Telephone System Act, the protocols shall be
established by such Board in consultation with the EMS
Medical Director. Persons who have already completed a
course of instruction in emergency medical dispatch based on,
equivalent to or exceeding the national curriculum of the
United States Department of Transportation, or as otherwise
approved by the Department, shall be considered Emergency
Medical Dispatchers on the effective date of this amendatory
Act.
(b) The Department shall have the authority and
responsibility to:
(1) Require certification and recertification of a
person who meets the training and other requirements as
an emergency medical dispatcher pursuant to this Act.
(2) Require certification and recertification of a
person, organization, or government agency that operates
an emergency medical dispatch agency that meets the
minimum standards prescribed by the Department for an
emergency medical dispatch agency pursuant to this Act.
(3) (1) Prescribe minimum education and continuing
education requirements for the Emergency Medical
Dispatcher, which meet or exceed the national curriculum
of the United States Department of Transportation,
through rules adopted pursuant to this Act.;
(4) Require each EMS Medical Director to report to
the Department whenever an action has taken place that
may require the revocation or suspension of a certificate
issued by the Department.
(5) Require each EMD to provide prearrival
instructions in compliance with protocols selected and
approved by the system's EMS medical director and
approved by the Department.
(2) Require the Emergency Medical Dispatcher to
notify the Department of the EMS System(s) in which he
operates;
(3) Require the Emergency Medical Dispatcher who
provides prearrival instructions to callers to comply
with the protocols for such instructions established by
the EMS Medical Director(s) and Emergency Telephone
System Board or Boards, or in the absence of an Emergency
Telephone System Board or Boards the governmental agency
performing the duties of an Emergency Telephone System
Board or Boards, of the EMS System or Systems in which he
operates;
(6) (4) Require the Emergency Medical Dispatcher to
keep the Department currently informed as to the entity
or agency that employs or supervises his activities as an
Emergency Medical Dispatcher.;
(5) Establish a mechanism for phasing in the
Emergency Medical Dispatcher requirements over a
five-year period;
(7) Establish an annual recertification requirement
that requires at least 12 hours of medical
dispatch-specific continuing education each year.
(8) Approve all EMDPRS protocols used by emergency
medical dispatch agencies to assure compliance with
national standards.
(9) Require that Department-approved emergency
medical dispatch training programs are conducted in
accordance with national standards.
(10) Require that the emergency medical dispatch
agency be operated in accordance with national standards,
including, but not limited to, (i) the use on every
request for medical assistance of an emergency medical
dispatch priority reference system (EMDPRS) in accordance
with Department-approved policies and procedures and (ii)
under the approval and supervision of the EMS medical
director, the establishment of a continuous quality
improvement program.
(11) Require that a person may not represent
himself or herself, nor may an agency or business
represent an agent or employee of that agency or
business, as an emergency medical dispatcher unless
certified by the Department as an emergency medical
dispatcher.
(12) Require that a person, organization, or
government agency not represent itself as an emergency
medical dispatch agency unless the person, organization,
or government agency is certified by the Department as an
emergency medical dispatch agency.
(13) Require that a person, organization, or
government agency may not offer or conduct a training
course that is represented as a course for an emergency
medical dispatcher unless the person, organization, or
agency is approved by the Department to offer or conduct
that course.
(14) Require that Department-approved emergency
medical dispatcher training programs are conducted by
instructors licensed by the Department who:
(i) are, at a minimum, certified as emergency
medical dispatchers;
(ii) have completed a Department-approved
course on methods of instruction;
(iii) have previous experience in a medical
dispatch agency; and
(iv) have demonstrated experience as an EMS
instructor.
(15) (6) Establish criteria for modifying or
waiving Emergency Medical Dispatcher requirements based
on (i) the scope and frequency of dispatch activities and
the dispatcher's access to training or (ii) whether the
previously-attended dispatcher training program merits
automatic recertification for the dispatcher.
(Source: P.A. 89-177, eff. 7-19-95.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
January 1, 2002.
Passed in the General Assembly May 31, 2001.
Governor Amendatory Veto August 01, 2001.
General Assembly Accepts Amendatory Veto November 28, 2001.
Returned to Governor for Certification December 12, 2001.
Governor Certifies Changes January 01, 2002.
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