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1997 SESSION


CHAPTER 321
An Act to amend and reenact § 32.1-111.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the statewide emergency medical care system.
[S 1034]
Approved March 13, 1997

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 32.1-111.3 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 32.1-111.3. Statewide emergency medical care system.

A. The Board of Health shall develop a comprehensive, coordinated, emergency medical care system in the Commonwealth and prepare a Statewide Emergency Medical Services Plan, which shall incorporate, but not be limited to, the plans prepared by the regional emergency medical services councils. The Board shall review the Plan triennially and make such revisions as may be necessary. The objectives of such Plan and the system shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. Establish a comprehensive statewide emergency medical care system, incorporating facilities, transportation, manpower, communications, and other components as integral parts of a unified system that will serve to improve the delivery of emergency medical services and thereby decrease morbidity, hospitalization, disability, and mortality;

2. Reduce the time period between the identification of an acutely ill or injured patient and the definitive treatment;

3. Increase the accessibility of high quality emergency medical services to all citizens of Virginia;

4. Promote continuing improvement in system components including ground, water and air transportation, communications, hospital emergency departments and other emergency medical care facilities, consumer health information and education, and health manpower and manpower training;

5. Improve the quality of emergency medical care delivered on site, in transit, in hospital emergency departments and within the hospital environment;

6. Work with medical societies, hospitals, and other public and private agencies in developing approaches whereby the many persons who are presently using the existing emergency department for routine, nonurgent, primary medical care will be served more appropriately and economically;

7. Conduct, promote, and encourage programs of education and training designed to upgrade the knowledge and skills of health manpower involved in emergency medical services;

8. Consult with and review, with agencies and organizations, the development of applications to governmental or other sources for grants or other funding to support emergency medical services programs;

9. Establish a statewide air medical evacuation system which shall be developed by the Department of Health in coordination with the Department of State Police and other appropriate state agencies;

10. Establish and maintain a process for designation of appropriate hospitals as trauma centers and specialty care centers based on an applicable national evaluation system;

11. Establish a comprehensive emergency medical services patient care data collection and evaluation system pursuant to Article 3.1 (§ 32.1-116.1 et seq.) of this chapter; and

12. Collect data and information and prepare reports for the sole purpose of the designation and verification of trauma centers and other specialty care centers pursuant to this section. All data and information collected shall remain confidential and shall be exempt from the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.1-340 et seq.).

B. The Board of Health shall also promulgate regulations to establish a statewide prehospital and interhospital trauma triage plan which (i) sets standards and criteria for triage and for trauma center designations and (ii) is designed to provide quality improvement monitoring and to ensure that trauma patients receive rapid access to appropriate, organized trauma care. The first set of such regulations shall be effective in 280 days or less from enactment of this provision.

C. Whenever any state-owned aircraft, vehicle, or other form of conveyance is utilized under the provisions of this section, an appropriate amount not to exceed the actual costs of operation may be charged by the agency having administrative control of such aircraft, vehicle or other form of conveyance.