§ 906. Emergency Medical Services Division; responsibilities

To implement the policy of section 901 of this chapter, 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 licensing emergency medical personnel according to their level of training and competence. The Department shall establish by rule at least three levels of emergency medical personnel instructors and the education required for each level.

(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 planning, organizing, coordinating, improving, expanding, monitoring, and evaluating emergency medical services.

(4) [Repealed.]

(5) Developing volunteer and career response time standards for urban and rural requests for emergency services.

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

(7) Assisting hospitals in the development of programs that will improve the quality of in-hospital services for persons requiring emergency medical treatment.

(8) Developing and implementing procedures to ensure 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 emergency medical services districts defining their operational procedures;

(B) where necessary and 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.

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

(10) Establishing, by rule, license levels for emergency medical personnel. 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 licenses, including licensure as an advanced emergency medical technician or as a paramedic.

(B) An individual licensed by the Commissioner as an emergency medical technician, advanced emergency medical technician, or paramedic, who is affiliated with an affiliated agency, shall be able to practice fully within the scope of practice for such level of licensure as defined by NHTSA’s National EMS Scope of Practice Model consistent with the license level of the affiliated agency, and subject to the medical direction of the emergency medical services district medical advisor.

(C)(i) Unless otherwise provided under this section, an individual seeking any level of licensure shall be required to pass an examination approved by the Commissioner for that level of licensure, except that any psychomotor skills testing for emergency medical responder, or emergency medical technician licensure shall be accomplished either by the demonstration of those skills competencies as part of the education required for that license level as approved by the Department or by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians’ psychomotor examination.

(ii) Written and practical examinations shall not be required for relicensure; however, to maintain licensure, all individuals shall complete a specified number of hours of continuing education as established by rule by the Commissioner. The Commissioner shall ensure that continuing education classes are available online and provided on a regional basis to accommodate the needs of volunteers and part-time individuals, including those in rural areas of the State.

(D) If there is a hardship imposed on any applicant for a license 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 licensure requirements, which the Commissioner may grant for good cause.

(E) An applicant who has served as a hospital corpsman or a medic in the U.S. Armed Forces, or who is licensed as a registered nurse or a physician assistant shall be granted a permanent waiver of the training requirements to become a licensed 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 licensure and is affiliated with an affiliated agency.

(F) An applicant who is registered on the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians as an emergency medical technician, an advanced emergency medical technician, or a paramedic shall be granted licensure as a Vermont emergency medical technician, an advanced emergency medical technician, or a paramedic without the need for further testing, provided he or she is affiliated with an affiliated agency or is serving as a medic with the Vermont National Guard.

(G) [Repealed.]

(11) In addition to the licenses established under subdivision (10) of this section, the Department shall establish by rule an entry-level certification for Vermont EMS first responders. (Added 1981, No. 61; amended 2009, No. 78 (Adj. Sess.), § 10e, eff. April 15, 2010; 2009, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. June 1, 2010; 2011, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 35; 2015, No. 97 (Adj. Sess.), § 46a; 2019, No. 100 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 14, 2020; 2019, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 29, eff. Oct. 1, 2020.)