1-1     By:  Dunnam (Senate Sponsor - Moncrief)               H.B. No. 3312
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 2, 2001;
 1-3     May 3, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Intergovernmental Relations; May 10, 2001, reported favorably by
 1-5     the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 10, 2001, sent to
 1-6     printer.)
 1-7                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-8                                   AN ACT
 1-9     relating to establishing a pilot program for state emergency
1-10     medical dispatch resource centers.
1-11           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12           SECTION 1. Chapter 771, Health and Safety Code, is amended by
1-13     adding Subchapter E to read as follows:
1-14       SUBCHAPTER E.  STATE EMERGENCY MEDICAL DISPATCH RESOURCE CENTER
1-15           Sec. 771.101.  ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM. (a)  The Texas
1-16     Department of Health, with the assistance of the advisory council
1-17     appointed under Section 773.012, shall establish a pilot program to
1-18     test the efficacy of using emergency medical dispatchers located in
1-19     a regional emergency medical dispatch resource center to provide
1-20     life-saving and other emergency medical instructions to persons who
1-21     need guidance while awaiting the arrival of emergency medical
1-22     personnel.  The purpose of a regional emergency medical dispatch
1-23     resource center is not to dispatch personnel or equipment resources
1-24     but to serve as a resource to provide pre-arrival instructions that
1-25     may be accessed by selected public safety answering points that are
1-26     not adequately staffed or funded to provide those services.
1-27           (b)  The commission shall provide technical assistance to the
1-28     department to facilitate the implementation of the pilot project.
1-29           (c)  The department, with the cooperation of the advisory
1-30     council, shall:
1-31                 (1)  design criteria and protocols and provide
1-32     oversight as needed to conduct the pilot program;
1-33                 (2)  collect the necessary data to evaluate the outcome
1-34     of the pilot program; and
1-35                 (3)  report its findings to the legislature.
1-36           Sec. 771.102.  PARTICIPATION IN PILOT PROGRAM. (a)  The Texas
1-37     Department of Health shall determine which public safety answering
1-38     points are interested in participating in the pilot program.
1-39           (b)  The department shall establish criteria for selecting
1-40     qualified public safety answering points to participate in the
1-41     pilot program.
1-42           (c)  Participating public safety answering points must agree
1-43     to participate in any required training and to provide regular
1-44     reports required by the department for the pilot program.
1-45           Sec. 771.103.  SELECTION OF REGIONAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL
1-46     DISPATCH RESOURCE CENTER. (a)  The Texas Department of Health, with
1-47     the assistance of the advisory council, shall select one public
1-48     safety answering point to serve as the regional emergency medical
1-49     dispatch resource center.  The public safety answering point
1-50     selected as the resource center for the pilot program must:
1-51                 (1)  have a fully functional quality assurance program
1-52     that measures each emergency medical dispatcher's compliance with
1-53     the medical protocol;
1-54                 (2)  have dispatch personnel who meet the requirements
1-55     for emergency medical dispatcher certification or the equivalent as
1-56     determined by the Texas Department of Health;
1-57                 (3)  use emergency medical dispatch protocols approved
1-58     by a physician medical director knowledgeable in emergency medical
1-59     dispatch;
1-60                 (4)  have sufficient experience in providing
1-61     pre-arrival instructions; and
1-62                 (5)  have sufficient resources to handle the additional
1-63     workload and responsibilities of the pilot program.
1-64           (b)  In selecting an existing public safety answering point
 2-1     to act as the resource center, the department and the advisory
 2-2     council shall consider a public safety answering point's ability to
 2-3     keep records and produce reports to measure the effectiveness of
 2-4     the pilot program.
 2-5           Sec. 771.104.  CRITERIA FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL DISPATCH
 2-6     INTERVENTION. The department and the advisory council shall define
 2-7     criteria that establish the need for emergency medical dispatch
 2-8     intervention to be used by participating public safety answering
 2-9     points to determine which calls are to be transferred to the
2-10     regional emergency medical dispatch resource center for emergency
2-11     medical dispatch intervention.
2-12           Sec. 771.105.  FUNDING OF PILOT PROGRAM.  Money in the 9-1-1
2-13     services fee fund may be appropriated to the Texas Department of
2-14     Health to fund the pilot program.
2-15           Sec. 771.106.  REPORT TO LEGISLATURE. The department shall
2-16     report its findings to the presiding officer of each house of the
2-17     legislature no later than December 1, 2002.
2-18           Sec. 771.107.  LIABILITY. The operations of the regional
2-19     emergency medical dispatch resource center are considered to be the
2-20     provision of 9-1-1 services for purposes of Section 771.053.
2-21     Employees of and volunteers at the center have the same protection
2-22     from liability as a member of the governing body of a public agency
2-23     under Section 771.053.
2-24           Sec. 771.108.  EXPIRATION.  This subchapter expires September
2-25     1, 2003.
2-26           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
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