NOTICES

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

Emergency Medical Services Office; Notice of Funding Priorities

[29 Pa.B. 4207]

   Under 28 Pa. Code § 1001.23(b)(relating to allocation of funds), the Department of Health (Department) hereby gives notice of priorities for the distribution by the regional emergency medical services (EMS) councils of funding from the Emergency Medical Services Operating Fund (EMSOF) for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1999 and ending June 30, 2000.

   The purpose of the EMSOF is to provide funding to maintain, improve and develop the quality of the EMS System within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The EMSOF is not sufficient to fully fund the EMS System. Consequently, as a general guideline, rural providers of EMS will be required to contribute 40% of the funds and non-rural providers of EMS will be required to contribute 50% of the funds for approved acquisitions. All purchases and acquisitions must be made by the providers of EMS within the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1999 and ending June 30, 2000.

   The Department may increase the amount of the initial payment or reimbursement from EMSOF based upon the EMS Development Plans (State and regional) or documented financial hardship of a provider of EMS. A provider of EMS that seeks additional funds due to financial hardship shall be required to submit a financial disclosure statement and other documentation deemed necessary by the Department.

   A provider of EMS applying for EMSOF must be in compliance, or aggressively pursuing full compliance with all requirements established for the EMS System by the regional EMS council having responsibility for the EMS region in which the provider of EMS operates.

   The regional EMS council shall prioritize funding distribution based on the EMS Development Plans (State and regional). The regional EMS council shall notify the provider of EMS of the established funding priorities, the application process, acquisition documentation requirements and processing deadlines. All applications for funding and all actions on those applications are to be completed by June 30, 2000.

   The following are examples of eligible EMS activities for funding through the Emergency Medical Service Operating Fund:

   *  Expenditures necessary for Year 2000 compliance

   *  Regional EMS Development Plan Initiatives

   *  Quality Assurance/Improvement Initiatives

   *  Data Collection (Department approved data programs and hardware)

   *  Training Equipment (for Department certification programs)

   *  EMS Management Development Training Programs

   *  Recruitment and Retention Programs

   *  Eligible equipment for ALS/BLS/QRS (see Attachment)

   The Department has established a list of eligible equipment for use of the Emergency Medical Services Operating Fund. The list identifies the eligible services for equipment purchases and the allowable cost. In addition, the list identifies the percentage contribution for urban/rural approved acquisitions.

Equipment Description	Life	Eligible Purchase For:				Allowable	Urban	Rural
	Expectancy	ALS     ALS/SQ     BLS      QRS				Costs1	(50%)	(60%)
EKG Monitor/Defibrillator with Pacer	5 years	Y	Y	N	N	10,000	5,000	6,000
12 Lead EKG2	5 years	Y	Y	N	N	16,000	8,000	9,600
Automated External Defibrillator (AED)	5 years	N	N	Y3	Y3	4,000	2,000	2,400
Oxygen Equipment (any combination)	5 years	Y	Y	Y	Y	500	250	300
Cylinder
Demand Valve w/Hose & Mask
Regulator (combination or con   stant flow)
Case
Pulse Oximeter	5 years	Y	Y	Y5	Y5	1,000	500	600
Splinting/Immobilization Devices (any combination)	3 years	Y	Y	Y	Y	500	250	300
Backboard
Cervical Immobilization
Device
Splints (rigid, air, etc.)
Stairchair	5 years	Y	N	Y	N	500	250	300
Stretcher--Primary	5 years	Y	N	Y	N	2,400	1,200	1,440
Stretcher/Chair Combination	5 years	Y	N	Y	N	500	250	300
Suction (portable, battery operated)	3 years	Y	Y	Y	Y	500	250	300
Ventilator, Automatic	5 years	Y4	Y4	Y5	Y5	1,400	700	840
(per Department of Health guidelines)
Ambulance	-	Y	N	Y	N	-	15,000	20,000
Squad/Response Vehicle	-	N	Y	N	Y	-	7,500	9,000
Data Collection Software6	-	Y	Y	Y	Y	1,700	1,700	1,700
Data Collection Hardware7	-	Y	Y	Y	Y	2,000	1,000	1,200
Radio, Mobile (one per vehicle, dispatch)	5 years	Y	Y	Y	Y	2,500	1,250	1,250
Radio, Mobile (one per vehicle, medical comm.)	5 years	Y	Y	Y	Y	2,500	1,250	1,250
Radio, Portable (one per vehicle, scene)	3 years	Y	Y	Y	Y	1,000	500	500
Alerting Equipment (5 per service @ $400 each)	5 years	Y	Y	Y	Y	2,000	1,000	1,200

¹ All figures are dollar amounts for each item of equipment.

² Amount includes $1,000 for communications package. Receiving facility must have appropriate communications capabilities.

³ Must be an approved AED service or part of regional planning and medical director required.

⁴ Completion of approved training program required.

⁵ Completion of approved training program required, BLS service medical director required.

⁶ Must be a Department of Health approved data vendor.

⁷ Data collection hardware may include computer, modem, printer, backup device and battery system.

ROBERT S. ZIMMERMAN, Jr.,   
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 99-1288. Filed for public inspection August 6, 1999, 9:00 a.m.]

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