Subchapter G. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR
REGIONAL EMS COUNCILS

§ 1001.121. Designation of regional EMS councils.

 (a)  The Department will designate a regional EMS council that satisfies the representation requirements in §  1001.125 (relating to requirements) for each geographic area of this Commonwealth.

 (b)  The designation of the geographical area will be based on:

   (1)  Existing usual patient care flow patterns.

   (2)  The capability to provide definitive care services to the majority of general, emergent and critical patients.

   (3)  Financial resources to sustain the EMS system operations.

   (4)  The capability to establish community-wide and regional care programs.

 (c)  The Department will evaluate the performance and effectiveness of each regional EMS council on a periodic basis to assure that each council is appropriately meeting the needs of its region in planning, developing, maintaining, expanding, improving and upgrading the EMS system in its region.

 In addition to other responsibilities imposed upon regional EMS councils by this part, regional EMS councils have responsibility for the following:

   (1)  Organizing, maintaining, implementing, expanding and improving the EMS system within the geographic area for which the regional EMS council has been assigned responsibilities.

   (2)  Developing and implementing comprehensive EMS plans, as approved by the Department.

   (3)  Advising PSAPs, and municipal and county governments, as to EMS resources available for dispatching and recommended dispatching criteria that may be developed by the Department, or by the regional EMS council as approved by the Department.

   (4)  Developing, maintaining, implementing, expanding and improving programs of medical coordination. The programs are subject to approval by the Department.

   (5)  Assisting hospitals in providing the Department with a comprehensive written plan for emergency care based on community need as provided in §  117.11 (relating to emergency services plan) and in identifying the hospital’s scope of services as provided in §  117.13 (relating to scope of services).

   (6)  Assisting the Department in achieving a unified Statewide EMS system as described in section 4 of the act (35 P. S. §  6924).

   (7)  Assisting the Department in collection and maintenance of standardized patient data and information.

   (8)  Providing ambulance services with data summary reports.

   (9)  Assuring the reasonable availability of training programs, including continuing education programs, for EMS personnel. The programs shall include those that lead to certification or recognition by the Department. Regional EMS councils may also develop and implement additional educational programs.

   (10)  Monitoring medical command facilities and prehospital personnel compliance with minimum standards established by the Department, and ambulance service medical director and medical command physician medical control of prehospital personnel.

   (11)  Facilitating the integration of medical command facilities into the regional EMS system in accordance with policies and guidelines established by the Department.

   (12)  Developing and implementing regional protocols for the triage, treatment, transport and transfer of patients to the most appropriate facility. Protocols shall be developed in consultation with the regional EMS council’s medical advisory committee and approved by the Department. Protocols shall, at a minimum:

     (i)   Include a method of identifying patients requiring specialized medical care, utilizing measurable criteria to identify patient referral.

     (ii)   Be based upon the specialty care capabilities of the receiving facilities and available providers of EMS, prehospital personnel, local geodemographic considerations and transport time considerations.

     (iii)   Be distributed to the providers of EMS within the region.

     (iv)   Be reviewed annually, and revised as necessary in consultation with the regional EMS council’s medical advisory committee.

     (v)   Be consistent with Chapter 1003 (relating to personnel) which governs the scope of practice of EMTs, EMT-paramedics and other prehospital personnel.

     (vi)   Be based upon accepted standards of emergency medical care.

     (vii)   Address patient choice regarding receiving facility.

     (viii)   Set forth a procedure for the efficient transfer of patients. When appropriate, these regional protocols shall be developed in consultation with specialty care facilities in the region.

   (13)  Assisting Federal, State or local agencies, upon request, in the provision of onsite mitigation, technical assistance, situation assessment, coordination of functions or postincident evaluations, in the event of a potential or actual disaster, mass casualty situation or other substantial threat to public health.

   (14)  Maintaining an inventory of EMS resources and personnel available on a volunteer basis as conditions and circumstances require and recruiting volunteers as needed.

   (15)  Designating a regional medical director.

   (16)  Supervising the regional EMS medical director to assure that the roles and responsibilities in §  1003.2 (relating to regional EMS medical director) are carried out.

   (17)  Assisting prehospital personnel and ambulance services operating in the regional EMS system to meet the licensure, certification, recertification, recognition, biennial registration and continuing education requirements established under the act and this part, and assisting the Department in ensuring that those requirements are met.

   (18)  Apprising medical command facilities and ALS ambulance services in the region when an EMT-paramedic or prehospital registered nurse has had medical command authorization removed by an ALS service medical director for an ALS ambulance service in the region.

   (19)  Developing a conflict of interest policy and requiring employes and officials to agree to the policy in writing.

   (20)  Approving medical command physicians in accordance with §  1003.4(c)(2) (relating to medical command physician).

   (21)  Performing other duties deemed appropriate by the Department for the initiation, expansion, maintenance and improvement of the regional and Statewide EMS system which are in accordance with the Statewide EMS development plan.

 Regional EMS councils shall be organized by one of the following:

   (1)  A unit of general local government with an advisory council.

   (2)  A representative public entity administering a compact or other areawide arrangement or consortium.

   (3)  A public or private nonprofit entity.

 (a)  If the regional EMS council is a unit of local government, it shall have an advisory council which is deemed by the Department to be representative of health care consumers, the health professions, and major private and public and voluntary agencies, organizations and institutions concerned with providing EMS.

 (b)  If the regional EMS council is a public or private nonprofit organization, its governing body shall satisfy the representation requirements in subsection (a).

 (c)  A regional EMS council shall establish and maintain a medical advisory committee and other committees which are necessary to carry out the responsibilities of the regional EMS council.

 (d)  The regional medical advisory committee shall assist the regional EMS council’s medical director in matters of medical coordination.

 (e)  Meetings of the regional EMS council shall be held under the Sunshine Act (65 P. S. § §  271—286).

   The provisions of this §  1001.125 amended October 13, 2000, effective October 14, 2000, 30 Pa.B. 5363. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (247543).

   This section cited in 28 Pa. Code §  1001.121 (relating to designation of regional EMS Council).