(A) Permit required. No person, either as owner, agent, or otherwise, shall furnish, operate, conduct, maintain, advertise, or otherwise be engaged in or profess to be engaged in the business or service of emergency and/or non-emergency transportation of patients within the county unless the person holds a valid permit pursuant to G.S. § 131E-156, for each ambulance used in the business or service issued by the State Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Emergency Medical Services, and has been granted a franchise for the operation of the business or service by the county pursuant to this chapter.
(B) Certification required. No person shall permit an ambulance to be operated when transporting a patient within the county unless the crew consists of a minimum of one individual that holds a currently valid certificate as a medical responder and at least one individual that holds a currently valid certificate as an Emergency Medical Technician – Basic, Intermediate, or Paramedic as defined by the United States Department of Transportation and hold current license, certification or appropriate registration in the state and are affiliated with the County EMS System.
(C) Franchise required. No person, either as owner, agent, or otherwise, shall furnish, operate, conduct, maintain, advertise, or otherwise be engaged in or profess to be engaged in the business or service of medical first responder, ambulance service, or other pre-hospital emergency medical services organization unless granted a franchise for the operation of the business or service by the county pursuant to this chapter.
(D) No franchise required. No franchise shall be required for:
(1) Any entity rendering assistance to a franchised ambulance service in the case of a major catastrophe, mutual aid, or emergency with which the services franchised by the county are insufficient or unable to cope;
(2) Any entity operated from a location or headquarters outside the county in order to transport the patients who are picked up beyond the limits of the county, or to pick up patients within the county for transporting to locations outside the county; or
(3) Apparatus owned and operated by any agency of the United States government, the state, or the county.
(E) Penalty. The operation of an ambulance without a valid permit or after a permit has been denied, suspended, or revoked or without appropriate credentialed staffing as required by G.S. § 131E-158, shall constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor pursuant to G.S. § 131E-161.
(Ord. passed 10-6-2003; Ord. passed 3-21-2022)