§ 909. EMS Advisory Committee; EMS Education Council

(a) The Commissioner shall establish the Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee to advise on matters relating to the delivery of emergency medical services (EMS) in Vermont.

(b) The Committee shall include the following members:

(1) One representative from each EMS district in the State, each representative being appointed by the EMS Board in his or her district.

(2) A representative from the Vermont Ambulance Association or designee.

(3) A representative from the Initiative for Rural Emergency Medical Services program at the University of Vermont or designee.

(4) A representative from the Professional Firefighters of Vermont or designee.

(5) A representative from the Vermont Career Fire Chiefs Association or designee.

(6) A representative from the Vermont State Firefighters’ Association or designee.

(7) An emergency department nurse manager or emergency department director of a Vermont hospital appointed by the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems.

(8) The Commissioner or designee.

(9) A local government member not affiliated with emergency medical services, firefighter services, or hospital services, appointed by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.

(c) The Committee shall select from among its members a chair who is not an employee of the State.

(d) The Committee shall meet not less than quarterly and may be convened at any time by the Chair or at the request of 11 Committee members. Not more than two meetings each year shall be held in the same EMS district. One meeting each year shall be held at a Vermont EMS conference.

(e) Annually, on or before January 1, the Committee shall report on the EMS system to the House Committees on Government Operations, on Commerce and Economic Development, and on Human Services and to the Senate Committees on Government Operations, on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs, and on Health and Welfare. The Committee’s reports shall include information on the following:

(1) whether every Vermont municipality should be required to have in effect an emergency medical services plan providing for timely and competent emergency responses;

(2) whether the State should establish directives addressing when an agency can respond to a nonemergency request for transportation of a patient if doing so will leave the service area unattended or unable to respond to an emergency call in a timely fashion;

(3) how the EMS system is functioning statewide and the current state of recruitment and workforce development;

(4) each EMS district’s response times to 911 emergencies in the previous year, based on information collected from the Vermont Department of Health’s Division of Emergency Medical Services;

(5) funding mechanisms and funding gaps for EMS personnel and providers across the State, including for the funding of infrastructure, equipment, and operations and costs associated with initial and continuing training and licensure of personnel;

(6) the nature and costs of dispatch services for EMS providers throughout the State, including the annual number of mutual aid calls to an emergency medical service area that come from outside that area, and suggestions for improvement;

(7) legal, financial, or other limitations on the ability of EMS personnel with various levels of training and licensure to engage in lifesaving or health-preserving procedures;

(8) how the current system of preparing and licensing EMS personnel could be improved, including the role of Vermont Technical College’s EMS program; whether the State should create an EMS academy; and how such an EMS academy should be structured; and

(9) how EMS instructor training and licensing could be improved.

(f) In addition to its report set forth in subsection (e) of this section, the Committee shall identify EMS resources and needs in each EMS district and provide that information to the Green Mountain Care Board to inform the Board’s periodic revisions to the Health Resource Allocation Plan developed pursuant to subsection 9405(b) of this title.

(g) The Committee shall establish from among its members the EMS Education Council, which may:

(1) sponsor training and education programs required for emergency medical personnel licensure in accordance with the Department of Health’s required standards for that training and education; and

(2) provide advice to the Department of Health regarding the standards for emergency medical personnel licensure and any recommendations for changes to those standards. (Added 2011, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 39; amended 2017, No. 202 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 30, 2018; 2019, No. 100 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 14, 2020; 2019, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 29, eff. Oct. 1, 2020.)