(A) Purpose.
(1) To establish an agency of county government to be known as the “Daviess County Ambulance Board”.
(2) The Ambulance Advisory Board established by this chapter will be expected to assure efficient and high quality ambulance services to all the citizens of the county in the most cost-effective fashion. Due to the distinctive geographic configuration of the county and its population density variations, the most effective method of providing quality ambulance services to all of the areas of the county is to establish an Ambulance Advisory Board to provide guidance to the County Commissioners regarding the operation of a county operated ambulance service.
(B) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ADVISORY BOARD. The Daviess County Ambulance Advisory Board established by this chapter.
AMBULANCE. Any conveyance on land, water or air that is used or is intended to be used for the purpose of responding to emergency life-threatening situations and providing emergency transportation services.
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS. The Board of Commissioners of Daviess County, Indiana.
EMERGENCY AMBULANCE SERVICES. The transportation of emergency patients by ambulance and the administration of emergency patients before or during transportation.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE. The following:
(a) Assessment of emergency patients;
(b) Administration of oxygen;
(c) Utilization of mechanical breathing devices;
(d) Performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
(e) Application of dressings and bandage materials;
(f) Application of splinting and immobilization services;
(g) Utilization of lifting and moving devices to ensure safe transport;
(h) Utilization of an automatic or semi-automatic defibrillator if the defibrillator is used in accordance with training procedures established by the State EMS Commission; and
(I) Other procedures authorized by the State EMS Commission.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE FACILITY. Those facilities that are licensed and operated under I.C. 16-18-2-111 and are equipped, prepared and staffed to provide medical care for emergency patients.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES. The provision of emergency ambulance services or other services, utilized in serving an individual’s need for immediate medical care in order to prevent loss of life or aggravation or physiological or psychological illness or injury.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN. An individual who is certified by the State EMS Commission to provide emergency medical care at the scene of an accident, illness or during transport.
EMERGENCY PATIENT. An individual who is acutely ill, injured or otherwise incapacitated or helpless and who requires emergency medical services. The term includes an individual who:
(a) Requires transportation on a litter or cot; or
(b) Is transported in a vehicle certified by the State EMS Commission as an ambulance.
INDIANA EMS COMMISSION. The State Emergency Medical Services Commission created by I. C. 16-31-2.
PERSON. Any natural person or persons, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association or joint stock association, and the person’s legal successors, including any governmental agency or instrumentality other than an agency instrumentality of the United States.
(C) Establishment of the County Ambulance Advisory Board. There is hereby established a County Ambulance Advisory Board within the executive branch of the county government for the purpose of establishing, maintaining and regulating emergency ambulance service in the county. The County Commissioners and County Ambulance Advisory Board shall be responsible for the organization, administration and operation of the Board.
(D) The County Ambulance Advisory Board established.
(1) The Daviess County Ambulance Advisory Board shall consist of nine members appointed as follows.
(a) The Board of Commissioners shall appoint members to the Advisory Board as follows:
1. Communications dispatcher residing in Daviess County that is certified as an "Emergency Medical Dispatcher" (EMD);
2. A Daviess Community Hospital Emergency Department (ED) Nurse Manager/ EMS Coordinator;
3. Daviess Community Hospital ED Medical Director or other designee of Daviess Community Hospital;
4. The City of Washington Chief of Police, or its designee;
5. The City of Washington Fire Chief, or its designee;
6. Daviess County Emergency Management Director;
7. The Daviess County Sheriff, or its designee;
8. The chair of the Volunteer Fire Chiefs Association, or such group's designee; and
9. A member of a Volunteer Fire Department, appointed by the Board of Commissioners.
(b) These members will serve on the Advisory Board only while holding the office or position specified herein.
(2) Ex-officio members of the Advisory Board shall be as follows: The three incumbent members of the County Board of Commissioners.
(3) A vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term of office of an Advisory Board member shall be filled in the same manner as original appointments for the unexpired terms. Except as limited herein, members may be reappointed.
(4) The members of the Advisory Board shall, as soon as possible after the initial appointment is made, meet and elect one member as Chairperson and another member as Vice Chairperson and another as Secretary. The officers of the Advisory Board shall be elected by the Advisory Board and serve for a two year term.
(5) For purposes of transacting business, a majority of the membership of the Advisory Board constitutes a quorum. A vacancy in the membership does not impair the right of the quorum to transact business.
(6) Duties of the County Ambulance Advisory Board:
(a) The Advisory Board shall actively oversee the operation of the active county contracted ambulance service;
(b) The Advisory Board shall make at least one annual report to the Board of Commissioners concerning an evaluation of the effectiveness of the ambulance services in the county and shall make recommendations concerning improvement, modification and continuance or discontinuance of the program, and additional reports and meetings may be called by the Board of Commissioners;
(c) The Advisory Board shall meet at least once quarterly; the frequency, time and place to be determined by the Advisory Board; and
(d) The county subsidized ambulance service will provide to the Advisory Board quarterly reports that include but is not limited to: number of runs divided into basic life support (BLS) runs and advanced life support runs (ALS).
(7) The Ambulance Advisory Board is a "public agency" as defined in I.C. Title 5, Article 14, relating to public meetings and access to public records. However, medical records of patients shall not be considered public records.
(Ord. 2005-09, passed 8-8-2005; Ord. 2013-01, passed 1-4-2013; Ord. 2017-7, passed 12-12-2017; Ord. 2021-7, passed 9-14-2021)