2020 Georgia Code
Title 31 - Health
Chapter 11 - Emergency Medical Services
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 31-11-3. Recommendations by Local Coordinating Entity as to Administration of Emsc Program; Hearing and Appeal

1. The Board of Public Health shall have the authority on behalf of the state to designate and contract with a public or nonprofit local entity to coordinate and administer the EMSC Program for each health district designated by the Department of Public Health. The local coordinating entity thus designated shall be responsible for recommending to the board or its designee the manner in which the EMSC Program is to be conducted. In making its recommendations, the local coordinating entity shall give priority to making the EMSC Program function as efficiently and economically as possible. Each licensed ambulance provider in the health district shall have the opportunity to participate in the EMSC Program.
2. The local coordinating entity shall request from each licensed ambulance provider in its health district a written description of the territory in which it can respond to emergency calls, based upon the provider's average response time from its base location within such territory; and such written description shall be due within ten days of the request by the local coordinating entity.
3. After receipt of the written descriptions of territory in which the ambulance providers propose to respond to emergency calls, the local coordinating entity shall within ten days recommend in writing to the board or its designee the territories within the health district to be serviced by the ambulance providers; and at this same time the local coordinating entity shall also recommend the method for distributing emergency calls among the providers, based primarily on the considerations of economy, efficiency, and benefit to the public welfare. The recommendation of the local coordinating entity shall be forwarded immediately to the board or its designee for approval or modification of the territorial zones and method of distributing calls among ambulance providers participating in the EMSC Program in the health district.
4. The board, or its designee, is empowered to conduct a hearing into the recommendations made by the local coordinating entity, and such hearing shall be conducted according to the procedures set forth in Code Section 31-5-2.
5. The recommendations of the local coordinating entity shall not be modified unless the board or its designee shall find, after a hearing, that the determination of the district health director is not consistent with operation of the EMSC Program in an efficient, economical manner that benefits the public welfare. The decision of the board or its designee shall be rendered as soon as possible and shall be final and conclusive concerning the operation of the EMSC Program; and appeal from such decision shall be pursuant to Code Section 31-5-3.
6. The local coordinating entity shall begin administering the EMSC Program in accord with the decision by the board or its designee immediately after the decision by the board or its designee regarding the approval or modification of the recommendations made by the local coordinating entity; and the EMSC Program shall be operated in such manner pending the resolution of any appeals filed pursuant to Code Section 31-5-3.
7. This Code section shall not apply to air ambulances or air ambulance services.

(Code 1933, § 88-3116, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 1068, § 3; Ga. L. 2003, p. 304, § 2; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, §§ 1-4, 1-5/HB 228; Ga. L. 2011, p. 705, §§ 6-3, 6-4/HB 214.)

- For article on the 2011 amendment of this Code section, see 28 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 147 (2011).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Summary judgment against board's designee in error.

- Since the decision by the designee of the Board of Human Resources to exclude licensed private ambulance service from automatic routing of emergency calls took numerous factors into account and based the board's decision upon hotly contested facts, there were genuine issues of material fact and the trial court erred in awarding summary judgment against the designee. DeKalb County v. Metro Ambulance Servs., Inc., 253 Ga. 561, 322 S.E.2d 881 (1984).

- Although the language of O.C.G.A. § 31-11-3 is phrased as a mandatory directive to the designee, the statute does not purport to confine the designee to the same limited standard of review to which the judiciary is confined respecting administrative decisions, nor does the statute overcome the constitutional proscription against plenary judicial review of such decisions. DeKalb County v. Metro Ambulance Servs., Inc., 253 Ga. 561, 322 S.E.2d 881 (1984).

Even though "fairness" is not an enumerated criterion of O.C.G.A. § 31-11-3, the specific factual inquiry made by the Board of Human Resources' designee concerning the double burden of citizens' funding local emergency medical services as well as paying private ambulance service's fees fell within the board's discretion to take into consideration the factors of economy and efficiency so as to benefit local citizens. DeKalb County v. Metro Ambulance Servs., Inc., 253 Ga. 561, 322 S.E.2d 881 (1984).

Term "shall have an opportunity to participate" should be construed in pari materia with the mandatory statutory criteria of efficiency, economy, and public welfare, and the extent of a private ambulance service's participation in the automatic funneling of emergency calls is contingent upon the Board of Human Resources designee's discretionary determination of how best to fulfill the statutory criteria. DeKalb County v. Metro Ambulance Servs., Inc., 253 Ga. 561, 322 S.E.2d 881 (1984).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Trauma advisory committee as review organization under

§ 31-7-131(3). - Since the Trauma Advisory Committee for Emergency Medical Services is a review organization consisting of surgeons licensed in the State of Georgia which evaluates care provided by professional health care providers as defined in O.C.G.A. § 31-7-131(2) for the purposes of improving the quality of care rendered and reducing morbidity and mortality due to trauma, it is a review organization within the meaning of § 31-7-131(3) and is covered by the immunity and confidentiality provisions of O.C.G.A. §§ 31-7-132 and31-7-133. 1988 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 88-5.