H 4050 Session 111 (1995-1996)
H 4050 General Bill, By Govan, Howard, Moody-Lawrence, J.H. Neal and Spearman
A Bill to amend Title 44, Chapter 7, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
relating to hospitals, by adding Article 23 so as to enact the Children's
Emergency Medical Services Act, to establish the Emergency Medical Services
for Children Program within the Department of Health and Environmental Control
and to provide for its duties, and to create an advisory council to the
Program.
04/12/95 House Introduced and read first time HJ-32
04/12/95 House Referred to Committee on Medical, Military,
Public and Municipal Affairs HJ-32
03/13/96 House Committee report: Majority favorable with amend.,
minority unfavorable Medical, Military, Public
and Municipal Affairs HJ-3
03/20/96 House Committed to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-46
COMMITTEE REPORT
March 13, 1996
H. 4050
Introduced by REPS. Govan, Neal, Howard, Moody-Lawrence and
Spearman
S. Printed 3/13/96--H.
Read the first time April 12, 1995.
THE COMMITTEE ON MEDICAL,
MILITARY, PUBLIC AND MUNICIPAL
AFFAIRS
To whom was referred a Bill (H. 4050), to amend Title 44,
Chapter 7, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to
hospitals, etc., respectfully
REPORT:
That they have duly and carefully considered the same, and
recommend that the same do pass with amendment:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the
enacting words and inserting:
/SECTION 1. Title 44, Chapter 61 of the 1976 Code is
amended by adding:
"Article 3
Emergency Medical Services for Children
Section 44-61-300. This article may be cited as the Children's
Emergency Medical Services Act.
Section 44-61-310. As used in this article:
(1) `Advanced life support' means an advanced level of pre-hospital, interhospital, and emergency service care which includes
basic life support functions, cardiac monitoring, cardiac
defibrillation, telemetered electrocardiography, administration of
antiarrhythmic agents, intravenous therapy, administration of
specific medications, drugs and solutions, use of adjunctive
ventilation devices, trauma care, and other techniques and
procedures authorized by the department pursuant to regulations.
(2) `Advisory council' or `EMS Advisory Council' means the
Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council.
(3) `Basic life support' means a basic level of pre-hospital care
which includes patient stabilization, airway clearance,
cardiopulmonary resuscitation, hemorrhage control, initial wound
care and fracture stabilization, and other techniques and procedures
authorized by the department pursuant to regulations.
(4) `Committee' or `EMSC Committee' means the Emergency
Medical Services for Children Committee established pursuant to
this article.
(5) `Coordinator' means the person coordinating the EMSC
Program within the Department of Health and Environmental
Control.
(6) `Department' means the Department of Health and
Environmental Control.
(7) `Director' means the director of the Department of Health
and Environmental Control.
(8) `EMSC Program' means the Emergency Medical Services
for Children Program established pursuant to this article and other
relevant programmatic activities conducted by the department in
support of appropriate treatment, transport, and triage of ill or
injured children.
(9) `Emergency medical services personnel' means persons
trained and certified or licensed to provide emergency medical care,
whether on a paid or volunteer basis, as part of a basic life support
or advanced life support pre-hospital emergency care service or in
an emergency department or pediatric critical care or specialty unit
in a licensed hospital.
(10) `Pre-hospital care' means the provision of emergency
medical care or transportation by trained and certified or licensed
emergency medical services personnel at the scene of an emergency
and while transporting sick or injured persons to a medical care
facility or provider.
Section 44-61-320. (A) There is established within the
Department of Health and Environmental Control, Division of
Emergency Medical Services, the Emergency Medical Services for
Children Program.
(B) The department shall hire a full-time coordinator for the
EMSC Program in consultation with the EMS advisory council.
The coordinator shall implement the EMSC Program following
consultation with the advisory council. The coordinator shall serve
as a liaison to the advisory council. The coordinator may employ
professional, technical, research, and clerical staff as necessary
within the limits of available appropriations.
Section 44-61-330. (A) The EMSC Program shall include, but is
not limited to, the establishment of:
(1) initial and continuing education programs for emergency
medical services personnel that include training in the emergency
care of infants and children;
(2) guidelines for referring children to the appropriate
emergency treatment facility;
(3) pediatric equipment guidelines for pre-hospital care;
(4) guidelines for hospital-based emergency departments
appropriate for pediatric care to assess, stabilize, and treat critically
ill infants and children, either to resolve the problem or to prepare
the child for transfer to a pediatric intensive care unit or a pediatric
trauma center;
(5) guidelines for pediatric intensive care units, pediatric
trauma centers, and intermediate care units fully equipped and
staffed by appropriately trained critical care pediatric physicians,
surgeons, nurses, and therapists;
(6) an interhospital transfer system for critically ill or injured
children;
(7) pediatric rehabilitation units staffed by rehabilitation
specialists and capable of providing any service required to assure
maximum recovery from the physical, emotional, and cognitive
effects of critical illness and severe trauma.
(8) in conjunction with the South Carolina Data Oversight
Council, the collection and analysis of statewide pediatric
emergency and critical care medical services data from emergency
and critical care medical services for the purpose of quality
improvement by these facilities and services, subject to the
confidentiality requirements of Section 44-61-350;
(9) injury prevention programs for parents;
(10) public education programs on accessing the emergency
medical services system and what to do until the emergency
medical services personnel arrive.
(B) In gathering statewide pediatric emergency and critical care
medical services data the department shall rely upon, to the extent
possible, data from existing sources; however, the department may
contact families and physicians for the purpose of gathering
additional data and providing information on available public and
private resources. Patient contact following data received from the
State Budget and Control Board Office of Research and Statistics
must be done in accordance with regulations approved by the South
Carolina Data Oversight Council and promulgated by the Office of
Research and Statistics.
Section 44-61-340. (A) There is created an Emergency Medical
Services for Children Committee to advise the Division of
Emergency Medical Services and the coordinator of the EMSC
Program on all matters concerning emergency medical services for
children. The committee shall assist in the formulation of policy
and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this article. The
EMSC Committee is a formal committee of the EMS Advisory
Council.
(B) The committee shall consist of a minimum of twelve
members to be appointed by the director for a term of three years.
Membership of the committee shall include: one practicing
pediatrician, one pediatric critical care physician, one emergency
physician, one emergency medical technician, one paramedic, one
family practice physician, two registered emergency nurses, one
hospital administrator, and three members, each with a nonmedical
background, who are parents with children under the age of
eighteen, one of whom must be a parent of a child with a disability.
The director also may appoint additional members to the committee
including, but not limited to, one board-certified pediatric
emergency physician, one pediatric physiatrist, and one pediatric
surgeon.
(C) Vacancies on the committee must be filled for the unexpired
term in the manner of the original appointment. The members of
the committee shall serve without compensation.
Section 44-61-350. (A) The identities of patients, emergency
and critical care medical services personnel, and emergency and
critical care medical services facilities mentioned, referenced, or
otherwise appearing in information or data collected or prepared by
or in connection with the EMSC Program must be treated as strictly
confidential. The identities of these persons or entities are not
available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act or
discoverable or admissible in any administrative, civil, or criminal
proceeding. An individual in attendance at any such proceeding
may not be required to testify as to the identity of any such person
or entity. No person, medical facility, or other organization
providing or releasing information in accordance with this article
may be held liable in a civil or criminal action for divulging
confidential information unless the individual or organization acted
in bad faith or with malicious purpose.
(B) The identity of a patient, physician, or hospital is
confidential and may not be released except that the identity of a
patient may be released upon informed written consent of the
patient or the patient's legal guardian or legal representative; the
identity of a physician may be released upon written consent of the
physician; and the identity of a hospital may be released upon
written consent of the hospital.
(C) Information must not be released except to:
(1) appropriate staff of the Division of Emergency Medical
Services within the Department of Health and Environmental
Control, South Carolina Data Oversight Council, and State Budget
and Control Board, Office of Research and Statistics;
(2) submitting hospitals or their designees;
(3) a person engaged in a research project approved pursuant
to Section 44-61-350 except that no information identifying a
subject of a report or a reporter may be made available to a
researcher unless consent is obtained pursuant to this section.
(D) For purposes of maintaining the data base collected pursuant
to this article, the department and the Office of Research and
Statistics may both access and provide access to appropriate
confidential data reported in accordance with Section 44-6-170.
(E) A person subject to this article who intentionally fails to
comply with reporting, confidentiality, or disclosure requirements of
this article is subject to a civil penalty of not more than one
hundred dollars for a violation the first time a person fails to
comply and not more than five thousand dollars for a subsequent
violation.
Section 44-61-360. The department shall promulgate regulations
necessary to carry out the purposes of this article."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the
Governor./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Majority favorable. Minority unfavorable.
JOE E. BROWN DANIEL L. TRIPP
For Majority. DWIGHT A. LOFTIS
For Minority.
STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED FISCAL
IMPACT
1. Estimated Cost to State-First
Year $ - 96,217 -
2. Estimated Cost to State-Annually Thereafter$ - 96,217 -
House Bill 4050 amends Title
44, Chapter 7, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to
hospitals, by adding Article 23 to enact the Children's Emergency
Medical Services Act, to establish the Emergency Medical Services
for Children's Program within the Department of Health and
Environmental Control (DHEC) and provide for its duties, and to
create an Advisory Council to the Program.
This proposed legislation
directs DHEC to perform functions that will require additional
operating expenses.
Estimated Costs:
Salary and Related Fringe (2.0 FTE's) $65,939
Other Operating $30,278
Total DHEC Costs$96,217
Since the bill prohibits
compensation for Advisory Council members, there are no costs
associated with the creation and maintenance of the Council.
Prepared By: Approved By:
JoAnne L. Payton Michael L. Shealy
State Budget Analyst Office of State Budget
A BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 44, CHAPTER 7, CODE OF LAWS OF
SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO HOSPITALS, BY
ADDING ARTICLE 23 SO AS TO ENACT THE CHILDREN'S
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ACT, TO ESTABLISH
THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES FOR CHILDREN
PROGRAM WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL AND TO PROVIDE FOR ITS
DUTIES, AND TO CREATE AN ADVISORY COUNCIL TO
THE PROGRAM.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 44, Chapter 7 of the 1976 Code is amended
by adding:
"Article 23
Emergency Medical Services for Children
Section 44-7-2800. This article may be cited as the Children's
Emergency Medical Services Act.
Section 44-7-2810. As used in this article:
(1) `Advanced life support' means an advanced level of pre-hospital, interhospital, and emergency service care which includes
basic life support functions, cardiac monitoring, cardiac
defibrillation, telemetered electrocardiography, administration of
antiarrhythmic agents, intravenous therapy, administration of
specific medications, drugs and solutions, use of adjunctive
ventilation devices, trauma care, and other techniques and
procedures authorized by the department pursuant to regulations.
(2) `Advisory council' means the Emergency Medical Services
for Children Advisory Council established pursuant to this article.
(3) `Basic life support' means a basic level of pre-hospital care
which includes patient stabilization, airway clearance,
cardiopulmonary resuscitation, hemorrhage control, initial wound
care and fracture stabilization, and other techniques and procedures
authorized by the department pursuant to regulations.
(4) `Coordinator' means the person coordinating the EMSC
program within the Department of Health and Environmental
Control.
(5) `Department' means the Department of Health and
Environmental Control.
(6) `Director' means the director of the Department of Health
and Environmental Control.
(7) `EMSC program' means the Emergency Medical Services
for Children program established pursuant to this article and other
relevant programmatic activities conducted by the department in
support of appropriate treatment, transport, and triage of ill or
injured children.
(8) `Emergency medical services personnel' means persons
trained and certified or licensed to provide emergency medical care,
whether on a paid or volunteer basis, as part of a basic life support
or advanced life support pre-hospital emergency care service or in
an emergency department or pediatric critical care of specialty unit
in a licensed hospital.
(9) `Pre-hospital care' means the provision of emergency
medical care or transportation by trained and certified or licensed
emergency medical services personnel at the scene of an emergency
and while transporting sick or injured persons to a medical care
facility or provider.
Section 44-7-2820. (A) There is established within the
Department of Health and Environmental Control the Emergency
Medical Services for Children program.
(B) The director shall hire a full-time coordinator for the EMSC
program in consultation with, and by the recommendation of the
advisory council. The coordinator shall implement the EMSC
program following consultation with, and at the recommendation of,
the advisory council. The coordinator shall serve as a liaison to the
advisory council. The coordinator may employ professional,
technical, research, and clerical staff as necessary within the limits
of available appropriations.
Section 44-7-2830. The EMSC program shall include, but is not
limited to, the establishment of:
(1) initial and continuing education programs for emergency
medical services personnel that include training in the emergency
care of infants and children;
(2) guidelines for referring children to the appropriate
emergency treatment facility;
(3) pediatric equipment guidelines for pre-hospital care;
(4) guidelines for hospital-based emergency departments
appropriate for pediatric care to assess, stabilize, and treat critically
ill infants and children, either to resolve the problem or to prepare
the child for transfer to a pediatric intensive care unit or a pediatric
trauma center;
(5) guidelines for pediatric intensive care units, pediatric trauma
centers, and intermediate care units fully equipped and staffed by
appropriately trained critical care pediatric physicians, surgeons,
nurses, and therapists;
(6) an interhospital transfer system for critically ill or injured
children;
(7) pediatric rehabilitation units staffed by rehabilitation
specialists and capable of providing any service required to assure
maximum recovery from the physical, emotional, and cognitive
effects of critical illness and severe trauma.
Section 44-7-2840. (A) There is created an Emergency Medical
Services for Children Advisory Council to advise the coordinator of
the EMSC program on all matters concerning emergency medical
services for children. The advisory council shall assist in the
formulation of policy and regulations to effectuate the purposes of
this article.
(B) The advisory council shall consist of a minimum of fourteen
public members to be appointed by the Governor, with the advice
and consent of the Senate, for a term of three years. Membership
of the advisory council shall include: one practicing pediatrician,
one pediatric critical care physician, one board certified pediatric
emergency physician, one pediatric physiatrist, one pediatric
surgeon, one emergency physician, one emergency medical
technician, one paramedic, one family practice physician, two
registered emergency nurses, and three members, each with a
nonmedical background, two of whom are parents with children
under the age of eighteen.
(C) Vacancies on the advisory council must be filled for the
unexpired term in the manner of the original appointment. The
members of the advisory council shall serve without compensation.
The advisory council shall elect a chairperson, who may select from
among the members a vice-chairperson and other officers or
subcommittees which are considered necessary or appropriate. The
council may adopt procedures governing its operations and
proceedings.
Section 44-7-2850. The department shall promulgate regulations
necessary to carry out the purposes of this article."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the
Governor.
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