2011 Vermont Code
Title 18 Health
Chapter 17 EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
§ 906 Emergency medical services division; responsibilities

§ 906. Emergency medical services division; responsibilities

To implement the policy of section 901, the department of health shall be responsible for:

(1) Developing and implementing minimum standards for training emergency medical personnel in basic life support and advanced life support, and certifying their personnel according to their level of training and competence.

(2) Developing and implementing minimum standards for vehicles used in providing emergency medical care, designating the types and quantities of equipment that must be carried by these vehicles, and registering those vehicles according to appropriate classifications.

(3) Developing a statewide system of emergency medical services including but not limited to planning, organizing, coordinating, improving, expanding, monitoring and evaluating emergency medical services.

(4) Training, or assisting in the training of, emergency medical personnel.

(5) Assisting hospitals in the development of programs which will improve the quality of in-hospital services for persons requiring emergency medical care.

(6) Developing and implementing procedures to insure that emergency medical services are rendered only with appropriate medical control. For the provision of advanced life support, appropriate medical control shall include at a minimum:

(A) written protocols between the appropriate officials of receiving hospitals and ambulance services defining their operational procedures;

(B) where practicable, direct communication between emergency medical personnel and a physician or person acting under the direct supervision of a physician;

(C) when such communication has been established, a specific order from the physician or person acting under the direct supervision of the physician to employ a certain medical procedure;

(D) use of advanced life support, when appropriate, only by emergency medical personnel who are certified by the department of health to employ advanced life support procedures.

(7) Establishing requirements for the collection of data by emergency medical personnel and hospitals as may be necessary to evaluate emergency medical care.

(8) Establishing, by rule, levels of individual certification and application forms for advanced emergency medical care. The commissioner shall use the guidelines established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the U.S. Department of Transportation as a standard or other comparable standards, except that a felony conviction shall not necessarily disqualify an applicant. The rules shall also provide that:

(A) An individual may apply for and obtain one or more additional certifications, including certification as an advanced emergency medical technician or as a paramedic.

(B) An individual certified by the commissioner as an emergency medical technician, advanced emergency medical technician, or a paramedic, who is affiliated with a licensed ambulance service, fire department, or rescue service, shall be able to practice fully within the scope of practice for such level of certification as defined by NHTSA's National EMS Scope of Practice Model notwithstanding any law or rule to the contrary, and subject to the medical direction of the commissioner or designee.

(C) Unless otherwise provided under this section, an individual seeking any level of certification shall be required to pass an examination approved by the commissioner for that level of certification. Written and practical examinations shall not be required for recertification; however, to maintain certification, all individuals shall complete a specified number of hours of continuing education as established by rule by the commissioner.

(D) If there is a hardship imposed on any applicant for a certification under this section because of unusual circumstances, the applicant may apply to the commissioner for a temporary or permanent waiver of one or more of the certification requirements, which the commissioner may grant for good cause.

(E) An applicant who has served as an advanced emergency medical technician, such as a hospital corpsman or a medic in the United States Armed Forces, or who is licensed as a registered nurse or a physician's assistant shall be granted a permanent waiver of the training requirements to become a certified emergency medical technician, an advanced emergency medical technician, or a paramedic, provided the applicant passes the applicable examination approved by the commissioner for that level of certification and further provided that the applicant is affiliated with a rescue service, fire department, or licensed ambulance service.

(F) An applicant who is certified on the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians as an EMT-basic, EMT-intermediate, or a paramedic shall be granted certification as a Vermont EMT-basic, EMT-intermediate, or paramedic without the need for further testing, provided he or she is affiliated with an ambulance service, fire department, or rescue service, or is serving as a medic with the Vermont National Guard.

(G) No advanced certification shall be required for a trainee in established advanced training programs leading to certification as an advanced emergency medical technician, provided that the trainee is supervised by an individual holding a level of certification for which the trainee is training and the student is enrolled in an approved certification program. (Added 1981, No. 61; amended 2009, No. 78 (Adj. Sess.), { 10e, eff. April 15, 2010; No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), { 18, eff. June 1, 2010.)