§ 22-60. Operating requirements.

(a)

All ground ambulances used for emergency patient transportation shall not be more than five years old from the date of sale as a new vehicle, shall not have been used more than 300,000 miles, and shall have documentation of compliance with vehicle maintenance criteria as required by the director. All ambulances used for the non emergency transportation of patients shall be not more than six years old from the date of sale as a new vehicle, and shall not have been used more than 300,000 miles.

(b)

All service providers shall keep detailed ambulance maintenance records, repair records, and inventory records. Such records shall be available for inspection by the director at all times.

(c)

All ambulances shall conform to all rules and regulations of the department.

(d)

Each ambulance shall be equipped for communication with Knox County Medical Dispatch and hospitals from inside and outside the ambulance with mobile and portable VHF radios. Additionally, ambulances shall be equipped with mobile and portable UHF or 800 MHZ radios, as approved by the coordinator. All ambulances shall be licensed by the FCC for required methods of communication.

(e)

Each ambulance or other vehicle used in the emergency response shall be equipped with equipment and supplies deemed necessary by the department and the director to maintain or improve the standard of care for the citizens of the county.

(f)

Ambulances shall be equipped for travel in inclement weather conditions including snow or ice. Each service provider shall adhere to the inclement weather protocol adopted by the director.

(g)

Each ambulance shall permanently display the name or service mark of the service provider and a unique unit number on the outside of the vehicle.

(h)

Each service provider shall submit a description of the applicant's training program, including training requirements for new employees, continuing education requirements, and employee performance evaluation programs on an annual basis.

(i)

In cases of disaster or emergency drill, all service providers shall respond to the request of the Knox County Medical Dispatch and report for response coordination at the direction of the state EMS consultant or the director.

(j)

All service providers shall establish mutual aid agreements with other local EMS agencies in the EMS region for assistance in the event of major disaster or incident.

(k)

All medical standby ambulances shall be staffed with a paramedic and an emergency medical technician onboard and the service provider will notify the Knox County Medical Dispatch of the location, type of event, and duration of the event. For the purpose of this section the term medical standby ambulance means an ambulance stationed at a public event or other gathering for the purpose of providing emergency medical services.

(l)

No ambulance will use a scanner or radio monitoring device for the purpose of responding to an emergency call when not authorized or requested by the Knox County Medical Dispatch.

(m)

Any ambulance used by a service provider for emergency transportation of patients shall have a paramedic and an emergency medical technician onboard. Any ambulance used by a service provider for non-emergency transportation of patients shall have an advanced emergency medical technician and emergency medical technician onboard or a paramedic and an emergency medical technician onboard. All required EMS personnel must be licensed by the department and shall be physically capable of performing the tasks assigned by the service provider, shall be clean in dress and person, and shall display their name, certification and service provider name in an appropriate manner visible to the patient.

(n)

No EMT or paramedic shall be assigned to provide dispatch, driving or patient care services for more than 27 consecutive hours without receiving 12 consecutive hours of rest. The 12-hour rest period shall mean that the EMT or paramedic shall not be subject to response to any call for patient care, including driving any vehicle used for emergency response or dispatching any service provider for patient care.

(o)

Each service provider shall maintain a fixed base of operations in the county which houses necessary equipment for communications and business function's and shall maintain 24-hour per day communications with the public, with all ambulances, and with the emergency departments of hospitals in the county. The address and phone number of service providers fixed bases of operations shall be published and available to the public. No service provider shall publish or advertise a seven-digit number for emergency responses, and all service providers shall include the 911 number in any advertising or other published document that includes a seven-digit phone number.

(p)

No service provider shall respond to a telephone call for emergency medical services unless dispatched by the Knox County Medical Dispatch. Upon receiving a telephone call for emergency medical services, the service provider shall immediately advise the caller to contact Knox County Emergency Communications District's 911 service.

(q)

No service provider shall use "Knox County" as part of its name.

(r)

All service providers operating in the county shall maintain insurance policies consistent with the rules and regulations of the department, and shall provide proof of such insurance to the director with the application. All policies issued to satisfy this requirement shall be provided by companies licensed and authorized to do business in the state.

(s)

No service provider shall deny medical services or transportation to any patient based upon the patient's race, creed, sex, national origin, disability, or ability to pay.

(t)

Service providers shall abide by such other reasonable operating requirements as promulgated by the director.

(Ord. No. O-10-8-101, § 1, 9-27-10)