SLS 18RS-395 ENGROSSED
2018 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 264
BY SENATOR CARTER
TELECOMMUNICATIONS. Requires public safety telecommunicators who provide
dispatch for emergency medical conditions be trained in the delivery of telephone CPR.
(8/1/18)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 40:1131(21) and 1131.1(D) and to enact R.S. 40:1131(22) and
3 (23), 1133.13(F) and (G), and 1133.16, relative to emergency personnel; to provide
4 for definitions; to provide relative to telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation; to
5 provide for minimum training requirements in telephone cardiopulmonary
6 resuscitation; to provide for certain terms, procedures, and conditions; and to provide
7 for related matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. R.S. 40:1131(21) and 1131.1(D) are hereby amended and reenacted and
10 R.S. 40:1131(22) and (23), 1133.13(F) and (G) and 1133.16 are hereby enacted to read as
11 follows:
12 §1131. Definitions
13 For purposes of this Chapter:
14 * * *
15 (21) "Public safety agency" means a functional division of a public or
16 private agency which provides firefighting, police, medical, or other emergency
17 services.
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1 (22) "Public safety telecommunicator" means an individual answering
2 911 emergency medical condition calls on behalf of a public safety agency who
3 has authority, based on a protocol adopted by the agency, to provide telephone
4 cardiopulmonary resuscitation (T-CPR) instructions to a caller before arrival
5 of professional medical assistance by first responders.
6 (23) "Volunteer nonprofit organization" means an organization which in its
7 regular course of business responds to a call for help and renders medical treatment
8 and whose attendants are emergency medical personnel, a registered nurse, or a
9 physician and which is chartered as a nonprofit organization under Section 501c of
10 the United States Internal Revenue Code, as a volunteer fire department by the
11 Louisiana state fire marshal's office, or as a nonprofit organization by the Louisiana
12 secretary of state.
13 §1131.1. Emergency medical services program; cooperation of other state
14 departments
15 * * *
16 D. The bureau shall identify all public and private agencies, institutions, and
17 individuals that are or may be engaged in emergency medical services training and
18 set minimum standards for course approval, instruction, and examination. Public
19 safety telecommunicators shall at a minimum successfully complete the
20 telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation training required by R.S. 40:1133.16.
21 * * *
22 §1133.13. Civil immunity
23 * * *
24 F. No public safety telecommunicator who instructs a caller on telephone
25 cardiopulmonary resuscitation shall be liable for any civil damages arising out
26 of the instruction provided to the caller, except for acts or omissions
27 intentionally designed to harm, or for grossly negligent acts or omissions that
28 result in harm to an individual. A caller may decline to receive instruction on
29 cardiopulmonary resuscitation. When a caller declines cardiopulmonary
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1 resuscitation instruction the public safety telecommunicator has no obligation
2 to provide the instruction.
3 G. No public safety agency shall be liable for any civil damages for
4 employing individuals to answer 911 emergency calls who are not designated as
5 public safety telecommunicators. Individuals who are not public safety
6 telecommunicators, as defined in R.S. 40:1131(22), shall not be required to
7 complete the telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation training required by R.S.
8 40:1133.16 and shall have no obligation to offer and provide telephone
9 cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction to a caller.
10 * * *
11 §1133.16. Public safety telecommunicator; instruction
12 A. A public safety telecommunicator shall be trained in telephone
13 cardiopulmonary resuscitation (T-CPR) utilizing nationally recognized
14 emergency cardiovascular care guidelines adopted by the bureau every two
15 years. At a minimum, this training shall incorporate recognition protocols for
16 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, compression-only CPR instructions for callers,
17 and continuing education as appropriate.
18 (1) On or before January 1, 2019, each public safety telecommunicator
19 in a parish with a population greater than one hundred thousand, according to
20 the latest federal decennial census, shall complete the T-CPR training required
21 by this Section.
22 (2) On or before January 1, 2020, each public safety telecommunicator
23 in a parish with a population between fifty thousand and one hundred thousand,
24 according to the latest federal decennial census, shall complete the T-CPR
25 training required by this Section.
26 (3) On or before January 1, 2021, each public safety telecommunicator
27 in a parish with a population less than fifty thousand, according to the latest
28 federal decennial census, shall complete the T-CPR training required by this
29 Section.
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1 B. A public safety agency may enter into a reciprocal agreement with
2 another public safety agency to provide T-CPR, provided that the agency that
3 accepts the call has a public safety telecommunicator who is trained in T-CPR
4 as provided by this Section.
5 C. The bureau shall identify all public and private agencies, institutions,
6 and individuals that are or may be engaged in T-CPR training and set minimum
7 standards for course approval, instruction, and examination, including online
8 training modules based on nationally recognized guidelines. The bureau shall
9 implement an efficient means for each public safety agency employing public
10 safety telecommunicators to transmit identifying information for the public
11 safety telecommunicators in their employ and an efficient means for either the
12 public safety agency or the public safety telecommunicator to provide a
13 certificate of completion of the T-CPR training required by this Section.
14 D. The department shall adopt rules in accordance with the provisions
15 of the Administrative Procedure Act as are necessary to implement the
16 provisions of this Section.
The original instrument was prepared by Michelle D. Ridge. The following
digest, which does not constitute a part of the legislative instrument, was
prepared by Christine Arbo Peck.
DIGEST
SB 264 Engrossed 2018 Regular Session Carter
Present law provides for training of emergency medical personnel.
Proposed law defines "public safety agency" as a functional division of a public or private
agency which provides firefighting, police, medical, or other emergency services. Proposed
law defines "public safety telecommunicator" as an individual answering 911 emergency
calls on behalf of a public safety agency who has authority, based on a protocol adopted by
the agency, to provide telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation (T-CPR) instructions to a
caller before arrival of professional medical assistance by first responders.
Present law grants civil immunity to emergency medical services practitioners, parish
governing authorities, police departments, sheriffs' offices, fire departments, or other public
agencies engaged in rendering emergency medical services.
Proposed law provides that no public safety telecommunicator who instructs a caller on
telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation (T-CPR) shall be liable for any civil damages
arising out of the instruction provided to the caller, except for acts or omissions intentionally
designed to harm, or for grossly negligent acts or omissions that result in harm to an
individual. Proposed law provides that a caller may decline T-CPR instruction and that once
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declined, the public safety communicator has no obligation to provide the instruction.
Proposed law provides that a public safety agency is not required to have public safety
communicators answer their 911 calls.
Proposed law requires a public safety telecommunicator be trained in T-CPR utilizing
nationally recognized emergency cardiovascular care guidelines adopted by the bureau every
two years.
Proposed law provides that the training, at a minimum, shall incorporate recognition
protocols for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, compression-only CPR instructions for callers,
and continuing education as appropriate.
Proposed law requires public safety agencies to ensure that 911 calls being answered by
public safety telecommunicators have T-CPR training based on the following timeline and
population references based on the latest federal decennial census:
(1)January 1, 2019 for parishes with a population of more than 100,000.
(2)January 1, 2020 for parishes with a population between 50,000 and 100,000.
(3)January 1, 2021 for parishes with a population less than 50,000.
Proposed law provides that a public safety agency may enter into a reciprocal agreement
with another public safety agency to provide T-CPR, provided that the agency that accepts
the call has a public safety telecommunicator who is trained in T-CPR as provided by
proposed law.
Proposed law requires LDH, bureau of emergency medical services to identify all public and
private agencies, institutions, and individuals that are or may be engaged in T-CPR training
and establish minimum standards for course approval, instruction, and examination.
Proposed law requires LDH to implement an efficient mechanism for the bureau to maintain
the names of public safety communicators and receive certificates of completion for the
training course required in proposed law.
Proposed law provides that the Dept. of Health shall adopt rules in accordance with the APA
as necessary to implement the provisions of proposed law.
Effective August 1, 2018.
(Amends R.S. 40:1131(21) and 1131.1(D); adds R.S. 40:1131(22) and (23), 1133.13(F) and
(G), and 1133.16)
Summary of Amendments Adopted by Senate
Committee Amendments Proposed by Senate Committee on Health and Welfare to
the original bill
1. Adds definition for "public safety agency" and revises the definition for
"public safety telecommunicator".
2. Clarifies that a caller may decline T-CPR and if so, the public safety
telecommunicator has no obligation to provide the instruction.
3. Provides that each public safety agency adopt a protocol to identify certain
individuals answering 911 emergency medical condition calls as public
safety telecommunicators and gives timelines for securing T-CPR training.
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4. Provides that public safety agencies are not liable for having non-public
safety telecommunicators answer 911 emergency calls.
5. Provides implementation of public safety telecommunicator training
requirements based on the latest federal decennial such that parishes with a
population of more than 100,000 must comply by January 1, 2019; 50,000 -
100,000 by January 1, 2020; and below 50,000 by January 1, 2021.
6. Provides that LDH implements an efficient mechanism to record the identity
of the public safety telecommunicators and record compliance with the T-
CPR training.
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