Code of Maine Rules › 16 - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY › 163 - BUREAU OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (MAINE EMS) › Chapter 3 - GROUND AMBULANCE SERVICE AND NON-TRANSPORTING SERVICE LICENSES › Section 163-3-5 - Licensing Standards

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
1. An application
				will not be accepted as complete unless it includes all materials required to
				be evaluated for licensure. To obtain a new license, a service applicant must:
A. Apply on forms available from Maine
				EMS.
B. Submit a fee of
				$100.00
C. Demonstrate to Maine EMS
				that:
1. The applicant has placed a notice,
				approved by Maine EMS, in the most widely circulated newspaper(s) serving the
				proposed 9-1-1 Primary Response Area, unless the applicant is applying for
				licensure without a 9-1-1 Primary Response Area for interfacility transport
				operations only. The notice must state:
a.
				The name and legal status of the entity making application;
b. The name of the proposed
				service;
c. The type of service
				proposed;
d. The proposed license
				level to be provided;
e. The
				name(s) of the geopolitical subdivision(s) within the proposed 9-1-1 Primary
				Response Area;
f. That the public
				is invited to make comment to Maine EMS regarding the proposed application, and
				that comments must be received by Maine EMS within 30 calendar days after the
				date of the notice's publication; and,
g. The current mailing address of the Maine
				EMS office.
2. The
				applicant possesses the equipment required by these Rules for the type of
				service and license level proposed.
3. The applicant can provide personnel
				required by these Rules for the type of service and license level
				proposed.
4. The applicant, if
				applying for a license that includes a 9-1-1 Primary Response Area, has made
				adequate arrangements for full-time dispatch.
5. The applicant possesses two-way radio
				communications equipment and frequencies for the proposed type of service,
				including, but not limited to the hospital-ambulance frequencies utilized in
				the service area(s) pursuant to these Rules and the designated Maine EMS
				statewide frequency "155.385."
6.
				If the application is for a new service or a change of service ownership: the
				applicant, if an individual is of good character, and if a partnership or
				corporation, its partners or principal officers are of good character. Four
				character references, written within the past year, must be submitted as a
				condition of meeting this requirement; none may be from a relative or employee
				of the applicant.
7. If the
				application is for a non-transporting service, the non-transporting service has
				either;
a. Entered into written agreements
				with the ambulance services which will transport its patients, guaranteeing
				continuity of care for the patient and simultaneous dispatch of the
				non-transporting and ambulance services; or,
b. Otherwise addresses these concerns in a
				plan as approved by Maine EMS which includes as a component a written agreement
				of this nature with at least one (1) ambulance service.
c. An ambulance service is not required to
				approve of or enter into a written agreement with a non-transporting EMS
				service.
d. A service licensed
				without a 9-1-1 Primary Response Area may not serve as the ambulance service
				transporting a non-transporting EMS service's patients.
8. The applicant has established a service
				level Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement Committee (for approval under
				32 M.R.S.
				§92-A) or has identified a
				Board-approved Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement committee in which the
				service will participate, and has submitted a quality assurance plan that is
				subject to Maine EMS approval.
9.
				The applicant meets the quality assurance/quality improvement requirements of
				Chapter 18 of these Rules.
10. The
				applicant has designated a service director, who shall act as the point of
				contact for the service.
11. The
				applicant has designated a person whose serves as the training and education
				point of contact for the service.
12. The applicant has identified the
				designated infection control officer for the proposed service. Pursuant to
				42 U.S.C. §
												300ff-136, each employer of emergency
				response employees in the State of Maine must have a designated infection
				control officer (ICO) for the purposes of receiving notifications and responses
				and making requests under 42 U.S.C. Chapter 6A, Subchapter XXIV, Part G. The
				licensee shall provide the ICO name and contact information to Maine Emergency
				Medical Services, and promptly notify Maine EMS of any changes in ICO during
				the term of its license. Maine EMS will provide this information to the
				Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control,
				Division of Infectious Disease.
13.
				The applicant, if applying for a license or permit to the Advanced EMT (AEMT)
				or Paramedic levels, has a service-specific medical director.
14. If the applicant lists a service-level
				medical director, the application must include a medical director
				agreement.
15. The applicant has in
				the case of a proposed service requesting a license or permit to administer
				drugs/medications entered into a written contract with a single hospital which
				has a pharmacy, several hospitals with either individual or central supply
				points, or some other source approved by the Board which will provide a system
				of control and accountability of drugs/medications pursuant to these
				Rules.
16. If the applicant intends
				to provide Paramedic Inter--Facility Transfers (PIFT), a separate application
				must be submitted to and approved by Maine EMS before the service performs such
				transfers. Personnel providing PIFT treatment on behalf of the service must
				successfully complete a Maine EMS-approved PIFT course prior to performing such
				treatment.
17. The applicant has
				submitted a safety program that addresses its patients, personnel, and the
				general public during operations.
D. If applying for licensure with a 9-1-1
				Primary Response Area, the applicant must define their proposed en-route
				time(s), response time(s), transport time(s), and time tolerance(s) for each
				geopolitical subdivision(s) in the proposed service area, based on and
				including the following;
1. Population count
				within the proposed service area;
2. Square miles within the proposed service
				area;
3. Availability of ambulance
				and crew;
4. Number of anticipated
				requests for each type and level of ground ambulance transport service in the
				proposed service area;
5. Available
				routes of travel within the proposed service area;
6. Dispatch agreement/response plan,
				including details about the level of response;
7. Geographic features and environmental
				conditions within the proposed service area; and,
8. Healthcare entities within the proposed
				service area and Healthcare Receiving Facilities that will likely receive
				transports from the proposed service area.
E. If the 9-1-1 Primary Response Area is
				currently served by a licensed ground ambulance service AND:
1. The current ground ambulance service is
				voluntarily relinquishing that 9-11 Primary Response Area, the applicant must
				provide a signed and notarized letter from the service director of the ground
				ambulance service currently licensed for that 9-1-1 Primary Response Area
				indicating their intent to relinquish that area; OR,
2. If the current ground ambulance service is
				NOT voluntarily relinquishing that 9-1-1 Primary Response Area, the applicant
				must provide:
a. A signed and notarized letter
				from the geopolitical subdivision(s) within a pre-existing 9-1-1 Primary
				Response Area who are seeking to replace the authorized ground ambulance
				service; and,
b. A Consultancy
				Report.
i. The applicant must provide a report
				from a third-party, disinterested consultant, with experience evaluating the
				efficiency and delivery of emergency medical services that:
1. Indicates changing ground ambulance
				services is in the best interest of the residents of the geopolitical
				subdivision(s);
2. Acknowledges and
				defends that the change(s) will maintain and/or improve patient care
				quality;
3. Acknowledges and
				defends that the change(s) will improve system efficiencies and use of
				resources; and,
4. Acknowledges and
				defends that the change(s) maintain and/or enhance response efficiencies.
ii. The above report
				must be dated within sixty (60) business days of the application's acceptance
				by Maine EMS as complete.