Public Act 102-0623
 
SB0693 EnrolledLRB102 04346 CPF 14364 b


  
    AN ACT concerning regulation.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  


 
    Section 5. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems 
Act is amended  by changing Sections 3.10, 3.50, 3.85, and 
3.155 as follows:
 


    (210 ILCS 50/3.10)



    Sec. 3.10. Scope of services.

    (a) "Advanced Life Support (ALS) Services" means
an 
advanced level of pre-hospital and inter-hospital emergency

care and non-emergency medical services that includes basic 
life
support care, cardiac monitoring, cardiac defibrillation,

electrocardiography, intravenous therapy, administration of

medications, drugs and solutions, use of adjunctive medical

devices, trauma care, and other authorized techniques and

procedures, as outlined in the provisions of the National EMS 
Education Standards relating to Advanced Life Support and any 
modifications to that curriculum
specified in rules adopted by 
the Department pursuant to
this Act.

    That care shall be initiated as authorized by the EMS

Medical Director in a Department approved advanced life

support EMS System, under the written or verbal direction of
a 
physician licensed to practice medicine in all of its
branches 
or under the verbal direction of an Emergency
Communications 
Registered Nurse.

    (b) "Intermediate Life Support (ILS) Services"
means an 
intermediate level of pre-hospital and inter-hospital

emergency care and non-emergency medical services that 
includes
basic life support care plus intravenous cannulation 
and
fluid therapy, invasive airway management, trauma care, 
and
other authorized techniques and procedures, as outlined in

the  Intermediate Life Support national curriculum of the

United States Department of Transportation and any

modifications to that curriculum specified in rules adopted
by 
the Department pursuant to this Act.

    That care shall be initiated as authorized by the EMS

Medical Director in a Department approved intermediate or

advanced life support EMS System, under the written or
verbal 
direction of a physician licensed to practice
medicine in all 
of its branches or under the verbal
direction of an Emergency 
Communications Registered Nurse.

    (c) "Basic Life Support (BLS) Services" means a
basic 
level of pre-hospital and inter-hospital emergency care and

non-emergency medical services that includes medical 
monitoring, clinical observation, airway management,

cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), control of shock and

bleeding and splinting of fractures, as outlined in the 
provisions of the National EMS Education Standards relating to 
Basic Life Support and any modifications to that
curriculum 
specified in rules adopted by the Department
pursuant to this 
Act.

    That care shall be initiated, where authorized by the
EMS 
Medical Director in a Department approved EMS System,
under 
the written or verbal direction of a physician
licensed to 
practice medicine in all of its branches or
under the verbal 
direction of an Emergency Communications
Registered Nurse.

    (d) "Emergency Medical Responder Services" means a 
preliminary
level of pre-hospital emergency care that includes

cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), monitoring vital signs

and control of bleeding, as outlined in the Emergency Medical 
Responder (EMR) curriculum of the National EMS Education 
Standards
and any modifications to that curriculum specified 
in rules
adopted by the Department pursuant to this Act.

    (e) "Pre-hospital care" means those
medical services 
rendered to patients for analytic,
resuscitative, stabilizing, 
or preventive purposes,
precedent to and during transportation 
of such patients to
health care facilities.

    (f) "Inter-hospital care" means those
medical services 
rendered to patients for
analytic, resuscitative, stabilizing, 
or preventive
purposes, during transportation of such patients 
from one
hospital to another hospital.

    (f-5) "Critical care transport" means the pre-hospital or 
inter-hospital transportation of a critically injured or ill 
patient by a vehicle service provider, including the provision 
of medically necessary supplies and services, at a level of 
service beyond the scope of the Paramedic. When medically 
indicated for a patient, as determined by a physician licensed 
to practice medicine in all of its branches, an advanced 
practice registered nurse, or a physician's assistant, in 
compliance with subsections (b) and (c) of Section 3.155 of 
this Act, critical care transport may be provided by:
        (1)  Department-approved critical care transport 
    providers, not owned or operated by a hospital, utilizing 
    Paramedics with additional training, nurses, or other 
    qualified health professionals; or
        (2)  Hospitals, when utilizing any vehicle service 
    provider or any hospital-owned or operated vehicle service 
    provider. Nothing in Public Act 96-1469 requires a 
    hospital to use, or to be, a Department-approved critical 
    care transport provider when transporting patients, 
    including those critically injured or ill. Nothing in this 
    Act shall restrict or prohibit a hospital from providing, 
    or arranging for, the medically appropriate transport of 
    any patient, as determined by a physician licensed to 
    practice in all of its branches, an advanced practice 
    registered nurse, or a physician's assistant.
    (g) "Non-emergency medical services" means the provision 
of, and all actions necessary before and after the provision 
of, Basic Life Support (BLS) Services, Advanced Life Support 
(ALS) Services, and critical care transport medical care, 
clinical observation, or medical monitoring rendered to

patients whose conditions do not meet this Act's definition of 
emergency, before, after, or
during transportation of such 
patients to or from health care facilities visited for the

purpose of obtaining medical or health care services which are 
not emergency in
nature, using a vehicle regulated by this Act 
and personnel licensed under this Act.

    (g-5)  The Department shall have the authority to 
promulgate minimum standards for critical care transport 
providers through rules adopted pursuant to this Act. All 
critical care transport providers must function within a 
Department-approved EMS System. Nothing in Department rules 
shall restrict a hospital's ability to furnish personnel, 
equipment, and medical supplies to any vehicle service 
provider, including a critical care transport provider. 
Minimum critical care transport provider standards shall 
include, but are not limited to:
        (1) Personnel staffing and licensure.
        (2) Education, certification, and experience.
        (3) Medical equipment and supplies.
        (4) Vehicular standards.
        (5) Treatment and transport protocols.
        (6) Quality assurance and data collection.
    (h)
The provisions of this Act shall not apply to
the use 
of an ambulance or SEMSV, unless and until
emergency or 
non-emergency medical services are needed
during the use of 
the ambulance or SEMSV.

(Source: P.A. 99-661, eff. 1-1-17; 100-513, eff. 1-1-18.)

 


    (210 ILCS 50/3.50)



    Sec. 3.50. Emergency Medical Services personnel licensure 
levels. 

    (a) "Emergency Medical Technician" or
"EMT" means a person 
who has successfully completed a course in basic life support

as approved by the
Department, is currently licensed by the 
Department in
accordance with standards prescribed by this Act 
and rules
adopted by the Department pursuant to this Act, and 
practices within an EMS
System. A valid Emergency Medical 
Technician-Basic (EMT-B) license issued under this Act shall 
continue to be valid and shall be recognized as an Emergency 
Medical Technician (EMT) license until the Emergency Medical 
Technician-Basic (EMT-B) license expires. 

    (b) "Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate"
or "EMT-I" 
means a person who has successfully completed a
course in 
intermediate life support
as approved
 by the Department, is 
currently licensed by the
Department in accordance with 
standards prescribed by this
Act and rules adopted by the 
Department pursuant to this
Act, and practices within an 
Intermediate or Advanced
Life Support EMS System. 

    (b-5)   "Advanced Emergency Medical Technician" or "A-EMT" 
means a person who has successfully completed a course in 
basic and limited advanced emergency medical care as approved 
by the Department,  is currently licensed by the Department in 
accordance with standards prescribed by this Act and rules 
adopted by the Department pursuant to this Act, and practices 
within an Intermediate or Advanced Life Support EMS System. 
    (c) "Paramedic (EMT-P)" means a person who
has 
successfully completed a
course in advanced life support care

as approved
 by the Department, is licensed by the Department

in accordance with standards prescribed by this Act and
rules 
adopted by the Department pursuant to this Act, and
practices 
within an Advanced Life Support EMS System. A valid Emergency 
Medical Technician-Paramedic (EMT-P) license issued under this 
Act shall continue to be valid and shall be recognized as a 
Paramedic license until the Emergency Medical 
Technician-Paramedic (EMT-P) license expires. 

    (c-5) "Emergency Medical Responder" or "EMR (First 
Responder)" means a person who has successfully completed a 
course in emergency medical response as approved by the 
Department and provides emergency medical response services 
prior to the arrival of an ambulance or specialized emergency 
medical services vehicle, in accordance with the level of care 
established by the National EMS Educational Standards 
Emergency Medical Responder course as modified by the 
Department, or who . An Emergency Medical Responder who 
provides services as part of an EMS System response plan shall 
comply with the applicable sections of the Program Plan, as 
approved by the Department, of that EMS System. The Department 
shall have the authority to adopt rules governing the 
curriculum, practice, and necessary equipment applicable to 
Emergency Medical Responders.
    On August 15, 2014 (the effective date of Public Act 
98-973), a person who is licensed by the Department as a First 
Responder and has completed a Department-approved course in 
first responder defibrillator training based on, or equivalent 
to, the National EMS Educational Standards or other standards 
previously recognized by the Department shall be eligible for 
licensure as an Emergency Medical Responder upon meeting the 
licensure requirements and submitting an application to the 
Department. A valid First Responder license issued under this 
Act shall continue to be valid and shall be recognized as an 
Emergency Medical Responder license until the First Responder 
license expires.
    (c-10) All EMS Systems and licensees shall be fully 
compliant with the National EMS Education Standards, as 
modified by the Department in administrative rules, within 24 
months after the adoption of the administrative rules. 
    (d) The Department shall have the authority and

responsibility to:

        (1) Prescribe education and training requirements, 
    which
includes training in the use of epinephrine,
for all 
    levels of EMS personnel except for EMRs, based on the 
    National EMS Educational Standards
and any modifications 
    to those curricula specified by the
Department through 
    rules adopted pursuant to this Act.

        (2) Prescribe licensure testing requirements
for all 
    levels of EMS personnel, which shall include a requirement 
    that
all phases of instruction, training, and field 
    experience be
completed before taking the appropriate 
    licensure examination.
Candidates may elect to take the 
    appropriate National Registry examination in lieu of the

    Department's examination, but are responsible for making

    their own arrangements for taking the National Registry

    examination. In prescribing licensure testing requirements 
    for honorably discharged members of the armed forces of 
    the United States under this paragraph (2), the Department 
    shall ensure that a candidate's military emergency medical 
    training, emergency medical curriculum completed, and 
    clinical experience, as described in paragraph (2.5), are 
    recognized. 

        (2.5) Review applications for EMS personnel licensure 
    from
honorably discharged members of the armed forces of 
    the United States with military emergency medical 
    training. Applications shall be filed with the Department 
    within one year after military discharge and shall 
    contain: (i) proof of successful completion of military 
    emergency medical training; (ii) a detailed description of 
    the emergency medical curriculum completed; and (iii) a 
    detailed description of the applicant's clinical 
    experience. The Department may request additional and 
    clarifying information. The Department shall evaluate the 
    application, including the applicant's training and 
    experience, consistent with the standards set forth under 
    subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) of Section 3.10. If the 
    application clearly demonstrates that the training and 
    experience meet such standards, the Department shall offer 
    the applicant the opportunity to successfully complete a 
    Department-approved EMS personnel examination for the 
    level of license for which the applicant is qualified. 
    Upon passage of an examination, the Department shall issue 
    a license, which shall be subject to all provisions of 
    this Act that are otherwise applicable to the level of EMS 
    personnel
license issued. 
        (3) License individuals as an EMR, EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT,

    or Paramedic who have met the Department's education, 
    training and
examination requirements.

        (4) Prescribe annual continuing education and

    relicensure requirements for all EMS personnel licensure


    levels. 

        (5) Relicense individuals as an EMD, EMR, EMT, EMT-I, 
    A-EMT, PHRN, PHAPRN, PHPA,
or Paramedic every 4 years, 
    based on their compliance with
continuing education and 
    relicensure requirements as required by the Department 
    pursuant to this Act. Every 4 years, a Paramedic shall 
    have 100 hours of approved continuing education, an EMT-I 
    and an advanced EMT shall have 80 hours of approved 
    continuing education, and an EMT shall have 60 hours of 
    approved continuing education. An Illinois licensed EMR, 
    EMD, EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT, Paramedic, ECRN, PHPA, PHAPRN, or 
    PHRN whose license has been expired for less than 36 
    months may apply for reinstatement by the Department. 
    Reinstatement shall require that the applicant (i) submit 
    satisfactory proof of completion of continuing medical 
    education and clinical requirements to be prescribed by 
    the Department in an administrative rule; (ii) submit a 
    positive recommendation from an Illinois EMS Medical 
    Director attesting to the applicant's qualifications for 
    retesting; and (iii) pass a Department approved test for 
    the level of EMS personnel license sought to be 
    reinstated.

        (6) Grant inactive status to any EMR, EMD, EMT, EMT-I, 
    A-EMT, Paramedic, ECRN, PHAPRN, PHPA, or PHRN who

    qualifies, based on standards and procedures established 
    by
the Department in rules adopted pursuant to this Act.

        (7) Charge a fee for EMS personnel examination, 
    licensure, and license renewal.

        (8) Suspend, revoke, or refuse to issue or renew the

    license of any licensee, after an opportunity for an 
    impartial hearing before a neutral administrative law 
    judge appointed by the Director, where the preponderance 
    of the evidence shows one or more of the following:

            (A) The licensee has not met continuing
education 
        or relicensure requirements as prescribed by the 
        Department;

            (B) The licensee has failed to maintain

        proficiency in the level of skills for which he or she 
        is licensed;

            (C) The licensee, during the provision of
medical 
        services, engaged in dishonorable, unethical, or

        unprofessional conduct of a character likely to 
        deceive,
defraud, or harm the public;

            (D) The licensee has failed to maintain or
has 
        violated standards of performance and conduct as 
        prescribed
by the Department in rules adopted pursuant 
        to this Act or
his or her EMS System's Program Plan;

            (E) The licensee is physically impaired to
the 
        extent that he or she cannot physically perform the 
        skills and
functions for which he or she is licensed, 
        as verified by a
physician, unless the person is on 
        inactive status pursuant
to Department regulations;

            (F) The licensee is mentally impaired to the

        extent that he or she cannot exercise the appropriate 
        judgment,
skill and safety for performing the 
        functions for which he
or she is licensed, as verified 
        by a physician, unless the person
is on inactive 
        status pursuant to Department regulations;

            (G) The licensee has violated this Act or any
rule 
        adopted by the Department pursuant to this Act; or
            (H)  The licensee has been convicted (or entered a 
        plea of guilty or nolo contendere nolo-contendere) by 
        a court of competent jurisdiction of a Class X, Class 
        1, or Class 2 felony in this State or an out-of-state 
        equivalent offense. 
        (9) Prescribe education and training requirements in 
    the administration and use of opioid antagonists for all 
    levels of EMS personnel based on the National EMS 
    Educational Standards and any modifications to those 
    curricula specified by the Department through rules 
    adopted pursuant to this Act. 
    (d-5) An EMR, EMD, EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT, Paramedic, ECRN, 
PHAPRN, PHPA, or PHRN who is a member of the Illinois National 
Guard or an Illinois State Trooper or who exclusively serves 
as a volunteer for units of local government with a population 
base of less than 5,000 or as a volunteer
for a not-for-profit 
organization that serves a service area
with a population base 
of less than 5,000 may submit an application to the Department 
for a waiver of the fees described under paragraph (7) of 
subsection (d) of this Section on a form prescribed by the 
Department. 
    The education requirements prescribed by the Department 
under this Section must allow for the suspension of those 
requirements in the case of a member of the armed services or 
reserve forces of the United States or a member of the Illinois 
National Guard  who is on active duty pursuant to an executive 
order of the President of the United States, an act of the 
Congress of the United States, or an order of the Governor at 
the time that the member would otherwise be required to 
fulfill a particular education requirement. Such a person must 
fulfill the education requirement within 6 months after his or 
her release from active duty.


    (e) In the event that any rule of the
Department or an EMS 
Medical Director that requires testing for drug
use as a 
condition of the applicable EMS personnel license conflicts 
with or
duplicates a provision of a collective bargaining 
agreement
that requires testing for drug use, that rule shall 
not
apply to any person covered by the collective bargaining

agreement.

    (f) At the time of applying for or renewing his or her 
license, an applicant for a license or license renewal may 
submit an email address to the Department. The Department 
shall keep the email address on file as a form of contact for 
the individual.  The Department shall send license renewal 
notices electronically and by mail to a licensee all licensees 
who provides provide the Department with his or her email 
address. The notices shall be sent at least 60 days prior to 
the expiration date of the license. 
(Source: P.A. 100-1082, eff. 8-24-19; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 
101-153, eff. 1-1-20; revised 12-3-19.)

 



    (210 ILCS 50/3.85)



    Sec. 3.85. Vehicle Service Providers. 

    (a) "Vehicle Service Provider" means an entity
licensed by 
the Department to provide emergency or
non-emergency medical 
services in compliance with this Act,
the rules promulgated by 
the Department pursuant to this
Act, and an operational plan 
approved by its EMS System(s),
utilizing at least ambulances 
or specialized emergency
medical service vehicles (SEMSV).


        (1) "Ambulance" means any publicly or
privately owned 
    on-road vehicle that is specifically designed,
constructed 
    or modified and equipped, and is intended to be
used for, 
    and is maintained or operated for the emergency

    transportation of persons who are sick, injured, wounded 
    or
otherwise incapacitated or helpless, or the 
    non-emergency
medical transportation of persons who 
    require the presence
of medical personnel to monitor the 
    individual's condition
or medical apparatus being used on 
    such individuals.


        (2) "Specialized Emergency Medical Services
Vehicle" 
    or "SEMSV" means a vehicle or conveyance, other
than those 
    owned or operated by the federal government, that
is 
    primarily intended for use in transporting the sick or

    injured by means of air, water, or ground transportation,

    that is not an ambulance as defined in this Act.  The term

    includes watercraft, aircraft and special purpose ground

    transport vehicles or conveyances not intended for use on

    public roads.


        (3) An ambulance or SEMSV may also be
designated as a 
    Limited Operation Vehicle or Special-Use Vehicle:


            (A) "Limited Operation Vehicle" means a
vehicle 
        which is licensed by the Department to provide
basic, 
        intermediate or advanced life support emergency or

        non-emergency medical services that are exclusively 
        limited
to specific events or locales.


            (B) "Special-Use Vehicle" means any
publicly or 
        privately owned vehicle that is specifically designed,

        constructed or modified and equipped, and is intended 
        to be
used for, and is maintained or operated solely 
        for the
emergency or non-emergency transportation of a 
        specific
medical class or category of persons who are 
        sick, injured,
wounded or otherwise incapacitated or 
        helpless (e.g.
high-risk obstetrical patients, 
        neonatal patients).

            (C) "Reserve Ambulance" means a vehicle that meets 
        all criteria set forth in this Section and all 
        Department rules, except for the required inventory of 
        medical supplies and durable medical equipment, which 
        may be rapidly transferred from a fully functional 
        ambulance to a reserve ambulance without the use of 
        tools or special mechanical expertise. 
    (b) The Department shall have the authority and

responsibility to:


        (1) Require all Vehicle Service Providers, both

    publicly and privately owned, to function within an EMS

    System.


        (2) Require a Vehicle Service Provider
utilizing 
    ambulances to have a primary affiliation with an EMS 
    System
within the EMS Region in which its Primary Service 
    Area is
located, which is the geographic areas in which 
    the provider
renders the majority of its emergency 
    responses.  This
requirement shall not apply to Vehicle 
    Service Providers
which exclusively utilize Limited 
    Operation Vehicles.


        (3) Establish licensing standards and
requirements for 
    Vehicle Service Providers, through rules
adopted pursuant 
    to this Act, including but not limited to:


            (A) Vehicle design, specification,
operation and 
        maintenance standards, including standards for the use 
        of reserve ambulances;


            (B) Equipment requirements;


            (C) Staffing requirements; and


            (D) License renewal at intervals determined by the 
        Department, which shall be not less than every 4 
        years.
        The Department's standards and requirements with 
    respect to vehicle staffing for private, nonpublic local 
    government employers must allow for an alternative rural 
    staffing models that include an EMR who
drives an 
    ambulance with a licensed EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT,
Paramedic, or 
    PHRN, as appropriate, in the patient
compartment providing 
    care to the patient pursuant to the approval of the EMS 
    System Program Plan developed and approved by the EMS 
    Medical Director for an EMS System. The Department shall 
    monitor the implementation and performance of alternative 
    staffing models and may issue a notice of termination of 
    an alternative staffing model only upon evidence that an 
    EMS System Program Plan is not being adhered to.
        An EMS System Program Plan for a Basic Life Support 
    transport
utilizing an EMR and an EMT shall include the

    following:
            (A) Alternative staffing models for a Basic Life 
        Support transport utilizing an EMR and an EMT shall 
        only be utilized for interfacility Basic Life Support 
        transports and medical appointments, excluding any 
        transport to or from a dialysis center.
            (B) Protocols that shall include dispatch 
        procedures to properly screen and assess patients for 
        EMR-staffed and EMT-staffed Basic Life Support 
        transport.
            (C)  A requirement that a provider shall implement 
        a quality assurance plan with mechanisms outlined to 
        audit dispatch screening and the outcome of transports 
        performed.
            (D) The EMT shall have at least one year of 
        experience in performance of pre-hospital emergency 
        care.
            (E) The licensed  EMR must complete a defensive 
        driving course prior to participation in the 
        Department's alternative staffing model.
            (F) The length of the EMS System Program Plan for a 
        Basic Life Support transport
utilizing an EMR and an 
        EMT shall be for one year, and must be renewed annually 
        if proof of the criteria being met is submitted, 
        validated, and approved by the EMS Medical Director 
        for the EMS System and the Department.
        The Department must allow for an alternative rural 
    staffing model for those vehicle service providers that 
    serve a rural or semi-rural population of 10,000 or fewer 
    inhabitants and exclusively uses volunteers, paid-on-call, 
    or a combination thereof.


        (4) License all Vehicle Service Providers
that have 
    met the Department's requirements for licensure, unless

    such Provider is owned or licensed by the federal

    government.  All Provider licenses issued by the Department

    shall specify the level and type of each vehicle covered 
    by
the license (BLS, ILS, ALS, ambulance, SEMSV, limited

    operation vehicle, special use vehicle, reserve 
    ambulance).


        (5) Annually inspect all licensed vehicles operated by 
    Vehicle
Service Providers.


        (6) Suspend, revoke, refuse to issue or refuse to

    renew the license of any Vehicle Service Provider, or that

    portion of a license pertaining to a specific vehicle

    operated by the Provider, after an opportunity for a

    hearing, when findings show that the Provider or one or 
    more
of its vehicles has failed to comply with the 
    standards and
requirements of this Act or rules adopted by 
    the Department
pursuant to this Act.


        (7) Issue an Emergency Suspension Order for
any 
    Provider or vehicle licensed under this Act, when the

    Director or his designee has determined that an immediate

    and serious danger to the public health, safety and 
    welfare
exists.  Suspension or revocation proceedings which 
    offer an
opportunity for hearing shall be promptly 
    initiated after
the Emergency Suspension Order has been 
    issued.


        (8) Exempt any licensed vehicle from
subsequent 
    vehicle design standards or specifications required by the

    Department, as long as said vehicle is continuously in

    compliance with the vehicle design standards and

    specifications originally applicable to that vehicle, or

    until said vehicle's title of ownership is transferred.


        (9) Exempt any vehicle (except an SEMSV)
which was 
    being used as an ambulance on or before December 15,
1980, 
    from vehicle design standards and specifications
required 
    by the Department, until said vehicle's title of
ownership 
    is transferred.  Such vehicles shall not be exempt
from all 
    other licensing standards and requirements
prescribed by 
    the Department.


        (10) Prohibit any Vehicle Service Provider
from 
    advertising, identifying its vehicles, or disseminating

    information in a false or misleading manner concerning the

    Provider's type and level of vehicles, location, primary

    service area, response times, level of personnel, 
    licensure
status or System participation.

        (10.5) Prohibit any Vehicle Service Provider, whether 
    municipal, private, or hospital-owned, from advertising 
    itself as a critical care transport provider unless it 
    participates in a Department-approved EMS System critical 
    care transport plan. 

        (11) Charge each Vehicle Service Provider a
fee per 
    transport vehicle, due annually at time of inspection. The 
    fee per transport vehicle shall be set by administrative 
    rule by the Department and shall not exceed 100 vehicles 
    per provider.

(Source: P.A. 97-333, eff. 8-12-11; 97-1014, eff. 1-1-13; 
98-452, eff. 1-1-14.)

 



    (210 ILCS 50/3.155)



    Sec. 3.155. General Provisions. 

    (a) Authority and responsibility for the EMS System
shall 
be vested in the EMS Resource Hospital, through the
EMS 
Medical Director or his designee.

    (b) For an inter-hospital emergency or
non-emergency 
medical transport, in which the physician from the sending

hospital provides the EMS personnel with written medical

orders, such written medical orders cannot exceed the scope
of 
care which the EMS personnel are authorized to render
pursuant 
to this Act.

    (c) For an inter-hospital emergency or
non-emergency 
medical transport of a patient who requires medical care

beyond the scope of care which the EMS personnel are

authorized to render pursuant to this Act, a qualified

physician, nurse, perfusionist, or respiratory therapist

familiar with the scope of care needed must accompany the

patient and the transferring hospital and physician shall

assume medical responsibility for that portion of the
medical 
care.

    (d) No emergency medical services vehicles or
personnel 
from another State or nation may be utilized on a
regular basis 
to pick up and transport patients within this
State without 
first complying with this Act and all rules
adopted by the 
Department pursuant to this Act.

    (e) This Act shall not prevent emergency medical
services 
vehicles or personnel from another State or nation
from 
rendering requested assistance in this State in a
disaster 
situation, or operating from a location outside the
State and 
occasionally transporting patients into this State
for needed 
medical care.  Except as provided in Section 31
of this Act, 
this Act shall not provide immunity from
liability for such 
activities.

    (f) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this
Section, 
no person or entity shall transport emergency or
non-emergency 
patients by ambulance, SEMSV, or medical
carrier without first 
complying with the provisions of this
Act and all rules 
adopted pursuant to this Act.

    (g) Nothing in this Act or the rules adopted by the 
Department under this
Act shall be construed to authorize any 
medical treatment to or transportation
of any person who 
objects on religious grounds.

    (h) Patients, individuals who accompany a patient, and 
emergency medical
services personnel may not smoke while 
inside an ambulance or SEMSV.  The
Department of Public Health 
may impose a civil penalty on an individual who
violates
this

subsection in the amount of $100.

    (i) When a patient has been determined by EMS personnel to 
(1) have no immediate life-threatening injuries or illness, 
(2) not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, (3) have no 
immediate or obvious need for transport to an emergency 
department,  and (4) have an immediate need for transport to an 
EMS System-approved mental health facility, the EMS personnel 
may contact Online Medical Control or his or her EMS Medical 
Director or Emergency Communications Registered Nurse to 
request bypass or diversion of the closest emergency 
department, as outlined in paragraph (5) of subsection (c) of 
Section 3.20, and request transport to the closest or 
appropriate EMS System-approved mental health facility. In 
addition, EMS personnel may transport a patient to an EMS 
System-approved urgent care or immediate care facility that 
meets the proper criteria and is approved by Online Medical 
Control or his or her EMS Medical Director or Emergency 
Communications Registered Nurse. 
(Source: P.A. 92-376, eff. 8-15-01.)


 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.