Senate Bill S6698A

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6698A

SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to staffing standards
for employees performing emergency medical services in the 911 system in
a city with a population of over one million people

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would ensure that ambulances responding to calls for emergency
medical services in a city with a population of more than one million
people will be adequately staffed to provide necessary care and to
ensure the safety and security of the EMTs, Paramedic and their Supervi-
sors who respond to those calls.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends Subsection 1 of Section 3005-a of the
Public Health Law to add a new paragraph (c). The new paragraph speci-
fies that the minimum staffing standard for EMS units responding to
              

calls for emergency medical services in the 911 system in a City with a
population of over one million people shall be (i) a team of two certi-
fied EMTs; or (ii) a team of two certified Advanced EMTs (also referred
to as Paramedics); or (iii) a team of one supervisor who is certified
either as an EMT or as an Advanced EMT, paired with one certified EMT or
Advanced EMT.

Section 2 provides that the law shall take effect immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Public Health Law Section 3005-a specifies minimum staffing services for
ambulance units that respond to calls for emergency medical services in
the State. The minimum levels specified are the same for communities
with few residents and embryonic emergency medical services as they are
for communities with highly sophisticated emergency medical services
systems and complex demographic issues.  The law should be updated to
ensure that the provision of services in those more complex environments
corresponds to the reality of service needs there. The current law spec-
ifies that the minimum staffing level of EMS units is limited to a
single responder. In fact, in more complex environments like New York
City, standard protocol calls for ambulances to be staffed with two
responders.Section 3005-a is just not consonant with the standard proto-
cols in effect there.

This bill would mandate that EMS units responding to calls for 911 emer-
gency medical services in cities with more than a million persons be
staffed by two qualified responders - two EMTs, two Advanced EMTs (i.e.,
Paramedics), or a supervisor with another who is an EMT of Advanced EMT
(i.e., Paramedics).This is necessary not only for the provision of need-
ed medical services, but also for the safety and security of the respon-
ders.

On October 7, 2022, FDNY Lieutenant Allison Russo, a Supervisor Paramed-
ic, was brutally murdered while she was on duty. Lt. Russo was in
uniform when her attacker fatally stabbed her multiple times in the neck
and chest. She was working alone and was waiting for roadside assistance
to come and repair her FDNY vehicle. While she waited, a civilian told
her there was someone having a medical emergency. She responded to
investigate the report when the murderer walked up to her and ended her
life. While EMTs and Paramedics in New York City's FDNY work with part-
ners, Supervisors generally do not.Yet, they are subject to the same
incredibly difficult working conditions and the same serious dangers
that EMTs and Paramedics face. This bill would ensure that the current
protocol for staffing levels for 911 EMT and Paramedic ambulances - two
responders in each ambulance - is not eroded; and it would ensure that
Supervisors working in 911 EMS vehicles work in teams just as EMTs and
Paramedics do.

For all these reasons, the bill is a just and equitable measure and
should be enacted.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.

 
STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.