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| 1 | AN ACT concerning regulation.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act | ||||||
| 5 | is amended by changing Section 3.87 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (210 ILCS 50/3.87) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 3.87. Ambulance service upgrades; rural population. | ||||||
| 8 | (a) In this Section, "rural ambulance service provider" | ||||||
| 9 | means an ambulance service provider licensed under this Act | ||||||
| 10 | that serves a rural population of 7,500 or fewer inhabitants. | ||||||
| 11 | (b) A rural ambulance service provider may submit a | ||||||
| 12 | proposal to the EMS System Medical Director requesting approval | ||||||
| 13 | of either or both of the following: | ||||||
| 14 | (1) Rural ambulance service provider in-field service | ||||||
| 15 | level upgrade. | ||||||
| 16 | (A) An ambulance operated by a rural ambulance | ||||||
| 17 | service provider may be upgraded, as defined by the EMS | ||||||
| 18 | System Medical Director in a policy or procedure, as | ||||||
| 19 | long as the EMS System Medical Director and the | ||||||
| 20 | Department have approved the proposal, to the highest | ||||||
| 21 | level of EMT license (advanced life support/paramedic, | ||||||
| 22 | intermediate life support, or basic life support) or | ||||||
| 23 | Pre-Hospital RN certification held by any person | ||||||
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| 1 | staffing that ambulance. The ambulance service | ||||||
| 2 | provider's proposal for an upgrade must include all of | ||||||
| 3 | the following: | ||||||
| 4 | (i) The manner in which the provider will | ||||||
| 5 | secure advanced life support equipment, supplies, | ||||||
| 6 | and medications. | ||||||
| 7 | (ii) The type of quality assurance the | ||||||
| 8 | provider will perform. | ||||||
| 9 | (iii) An assurance that the provider will | ||||||
| 10 | advertise only the level of care that can be | ||||||
| 11 | provided 24 hours a day. | ||||||
| 12 | (B) If a rural ambulance service provider is | ||||||
| 13 | approved to provide an in-field service level upgrade | ||||||
| 14 | based on the licensed personnel on the vehicle, all the | ||||||
| 15 | advanced life support medical supplies, durable | ||||||
| 16 | medical equipment, and medications must be secured and | ||||||
| 17 | locked with access by only the personnel who have been | ||||||
| 18 | authorized by the EMS System Medical Director to | ||||||
| 19 | utilize those supplies. | ||||||
| 20 | (C) The EMS System shall routinely perform quality | ||||||
| 21 | assurance, in compliance with the EMS System's quality | ||||||
| 22 | assurance plan approved by the Department, on in-field | ||||||
| 23 | service level upgrades authorized under this Section | ||||||
| 24 | to ensure compliance with the EMS System plan. | ||||||
| 25 | (2) Rural ambulance service provider in-field service | ||||||
| 26 | level upgrade. The EMS System Medical Director may define | ||||||
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| 1 | what constitutes an in-field service level upgrade through | ||||||
| 2 | an EMS System policy or procedure.
An in-field service | ||||||
| 3 | level upgrade may include, but need not be limited to, an | ||||||
| 4 | upgrade to a licensed ambulance, alternate response | ||||||
| 5 | vehicle as defined by the Department in rules, or | ||||||
| 6 | specialized emergency medical services vehicle. | ||||||
| 7 | (c) If the EMS System Medical Director approves a proposal | ||||||
| 8 | for a rural in-field service level upgrade under this Section, | ||||||
| 9 | he or she shall submit the proposal to the Department along | ||||||
| 10 | with a statement of approval signed by him or her. Once the | ||||||
| 11 | Department has approved the proposal, the rural ambulance | ||||||
| 12 | service provider will be authorized to function at the highest | ||||||
| 13 | level of EMT license (advanced life support/paramedic, | ||||||
| 14 | intermediate life support, or basic life support) or | ||||||
| 15 | Pre-Hospital RN certification held by any person staffing the | ||||||
| 16 | vehicle.
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| 17 | (Source: P.A. 98-608, eff. 12-27-13.)
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