BILL REQ. #:  H-2566.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/28/07.   

     AN ACT Relating to directing the department of health to develop guidelines for the safety of individuals who rely upon stretchers and personal mobility devices; amending RCW 18.73.180; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 18.73.180 and 1987 c 214 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
     Other vehicles not herein defined by this chapter shall not be used for transportation of patients who must be carried on a stretcher or who may require medical attention en route, except that such transportation may be used when:
     (1) A disaster creates a situation that cannot be served by licensed ambulances; or
     (2) The use of a stretcher is necessary because an individual's personal mobility aid cannot be adequately secured in the nonambulance vehicle and the individual has written authorization from his or her physician that it is safe to transfer the individual from a personal mobility aid to a stretcher.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The department of health shall prepare guidelines for the public and vehicle operators relating to:
     (1) Appropriate situations in which vehicles other than ambulances may be used to transport individuals who rely upon personal mobility aids in the normal course of their lives; and
     (2) Methods for properly securing personal mobility aids on vehicles other than ambulances and determining if they are adequately secured.