BILL REQ. #:  H-1184.2 

Read first time 01/30/2007.   Referred to Committee on Health Care & Wellness.

     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; adding a new section to chapter 18.73 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that licensed ambulance services provide high quality service to patients needing medical attention en route as well as to patients who must be transported by stretcher. The legislature also finds that there is a portion of the population that, although traveling in a stretcher, may not need the level of care that a licensed ambulance service offers. For this segment of the population, there is no less expensive transportation alternative.
     The legislature finds that there is a need for clear guidelines to delineate when it is appropriate to transport patients between health care facilities and patients who are being released from medical care who are capable of being transported safely by stretcher without the use of a licensed ambulance service. In addition, the legislature finds that the rights of individuals who rely upon personal mobility devices in the normal course of their lives must be protected so that they may have appropriate transportation options available to them.

Sec. 2   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) An individual under the care of a hospital or nursing home is to be transferred, while on a stretcher, to another facility or discharged from medical care and the individual meets the transportation guidelines developed under section 3 of this act as determined by appropriate medical personnel at the facility.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 18.73 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall develop guidelines to establish when it is appropriate to transport an individual on a stretcher in a vehicle other than a licensed ambulance when the individual has been under the care of a hospital or nursing home and is to be transferred to another facility or discharged from medical care. The department shall consult with the state's emergency medical program directors for advice and assistance in developing the guidelines. The guidelines shall:
     (a) Assist hospital, nursing home, and vehicle personnel in determining which individuals who must be transported on a stretcher may require medical attention en route and those individuals who may be safely transported on a stretcher without medical concerns;
     (b) Determine which personnel at the hospital or nursing home are the appropriate medical personnel to decide that the individual may safely travel on a stretcher in a vehicle other than a licensed ambulance; and
     (c) Recommend any equipment that must be on the vehicle and any staffing and training that the vehicle personnel must have to ensure passenger safety.
     (2) Nothing in this section requires that a vehicle other than a licensed ambulance obtain a license to transport individuals in accordance with the guidelines. Nothing in this section requires that the department take disciplinary action against a vehicle other than a licensed ambulance for failure to meet any recommended training or equipment standards in the guidelines, except that the department may use the guidelines in any case where it is asserted that a vehicle other than a licensed ambulance was used to transport an individual who should have been transported by a licensed ambulance.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) The department of health shall conduct a pilot project to determine appropriate standards for the safe transportation of individuals who must be transported on a stretcher. The pilot project must include one site in the eastern portion of the state and one site in the western portion of the state. Trips provided pursuant to the pilot project by a pilot project participant are exempt from compliance with RCW 18.73.180 when operating in accordance with the terms of the pilot project. The pilot project must seek to inform the guidelines established in section 3 of this act regarding issues such as:
     (a) The identification of individuals who need to be transported on a stretcher and must be transported by a licensed ambulance or may be transported by vehicles other than licensed ambulances, including individuals who have recently been discharged from a hospital or nursing home and individuals who use personal mobility devices in the normal course of their lives;
     (b) The identification of appropriate medical personnel at hospitals and nursing homes who may determine whether or not the guidelines have been met to allow an individual to be transported by a vehicle other than a licensed ambulance; and
     (c) Recommended personnel training and vehicle equipment for vehicles other than licensed ambulances when transporting an individual in a prone or supine position.
     (2) The pilot project must also study best practices for transporting individuals with disabilities who rely upon personal mobility devices in the normal course of their lives, including methods for securing an individual's personal mobility device and methods for securing atypical mobility devices. In developing the pilot project and selecting best practices, the department of health shall consult with representatives of organizations representing people who use personal mobility devices.
     (3) The pilot project may also study:
     (a) Which other individuals may be safely transported on a stretcher in a prone or supine position in a vehicle other than a licensed ambulance, such as obese individuals who need special accommodations;
     (b) Methods for identifying and accommodating individuals with disabilities who rely upon personal mobility devices in the normal course of their lives; and
     (c) Other issues that the department of health finds warrant further study.
     (4) By November 15, 2009, the department of health shall report to the legislature on the findings of the pilot project and the development of the guidelines.