Published Wed May 05 2021 15:57:54 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) by Lynn Arditi
Rhode Island physicians groups are sounding alarms about legislation moving through the General Assembly that they say would strip the authority of the state health director over emergency medical services.
The legislation (H-6282 and S-860) would prevent the health director from enacting EMS regulations, protocols and licensing requirements without the approval of a 25-member board that currently serves in an advisory capacity. The single-largest constituency of the Ambulance Service Coordinating Advisory Board are municipal fire departments, which run almost all of the state’s EMS agencies.
The Rhode Island State Association of Fire Fighters and the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns are supporting the legislation. The Rhode Island Medical Society, the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, Rhode Island Chapter of the American College of Em