North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 10A - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › Chapter 13 - NC MEDICAL CARE COMMISSION › Subchapter P - EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES AND TRAUMA RULES › Section .0200 - EMS SYSTEMS › Section 13P .0217 - MEDICAL AMBULANCE/EVACUATION BUS: VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) A Medical Ambulance/Evacuation bus is a
				  multiple passenger vehicle configured and medically equipped for emergency and
				  non-emergency transport of at least three stretcher bound patients with
				  traumatic or medical conditions.
(b) To be permitted as a Medical
				  Ambulance/Evacuation Bus, a vehicle shall have:
(1) a non-light penetrating sliding curtain
				  installed behind the driver from floor-to-ceiling and from side-to-side to keep
				  all light from the patient compartment from reaching the driver's area during
				  vehicle operation at night;
(2)
				  patient care equipment and supplies as defined in the "North Carolina College
				  of Emergency Physicians: Standards for Medical Oversight and Data Collection."
				  The equipment and supplies shall be clean, in working order, and secured in the
				  vehicle;
(3) five-pound fire
				  extinguishers mounted in a quick release bracket located inside the patient
				  compartment at the front and rear of the vehicle that are either a dry chemical
				  or all-purpose type and have pressure gauges;
(4) monitor alarms installed inside the
				  patient compartment at the front and rear of the vehicle to warn of unsafe
				  buildup of carbon monoxide;
(5) the
				  name of the EMS provider permanently displayed on each side of the
				  vehicle;
(6) reflective tape
				  affixed to the vehicle such that there is reflectivity on all sides of the
				  vehicle;
(7) emergency warning
				  lights and audible warning devices mounted on the vehicle as required by G.S.
				  20-125. All warning devices shall function properly;
(8) no structural or functional defects that
				  may adversely affect the patient, the EMS personnel, or the safe operation of
				  the vehicle;
(9) an operational
				  two-way radio that:
(A) is mounted to the
				  ambulance and installed for safe operation and controlled by the ambulance
				  driver;
(B) has the range, radio
				  frequencies, and capabilities to establish and maintain two-way voice radio
				  communication from within the defined service area of the EMS System to the
				  emergency communications center or PSAP designated to direct or dispatch the
				  deployment of the ambulance;
(C) is
				  capable of establishing two-way voice radio communication from within the
				  defined service area to the emergency department of the hospital(s) where
				  patients are routinely transported and to facilities that provide on-line
				  medical direction to EMS personnel;
(D) is equipped with a radio control device
				  in the patient compartment capable of operation by the patient attendant to
				  receive on-line medical direction; and
(E) is licensed or authorized by the
				  FCC;
(10) permanently
				  installed heating and air conditioning systems; and
(11) a copy of the EMS System patient care
				  treatment protocols.