Kern County Municipal Code Ch. 8.13 Emergency Medical Services Fees

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. G-8801, § 2, adopted Oct. 23, 2018, repealed the former Ch. 8.13, §§ 8.13.020—8.13.120, and enacted a new Ch. 8.13 as set out herein. The former Ch. 8.13 pertained to similar subject matter and derived from Ord. G-5194 (part), adopted 1990; Ord. G-5465 § 2, adopted 1991; Ord. G-5568 §§ 2—4 (part), adopted 1991; Ord. G-5801 §§ 2, adopted 1992; Ord. G-5818 § 3 (part), adopted 1992; Ord. G-5968 §§ 2—6, adopted 1993; Ord. G-6102 §§ 2, 3, adopted 1994; Ord. G-6227 §§ 2—5, adopted 1995; Ord. G-6312 §§ 2—5, adopted 1996; Ord. G-6612 §§ 2—5, adopted 1999; Ord. No. G-8006, § 21, adopted Jan. 26, 2010.

As used in this chapter:

A. "Emergency medical dispatcher" or "EMD" means a person who has successfully completed a locally authorized emergency medical dispatch course which meets the requirements of the EMS division, has passed all required tests, and who has a valid certificate as an EMD issued by the EMS division.

B. "Emergency medical technician", "EMT-Basic" or "EMT" means a person who has successfully completed an EMT course that meets the requirements of the California Code of Regulations, Title 22, Chapter 2, Article 100060, has passed all required tests, and has been certified by a California EMT certifying entity.

C. "Emergency medical technician—Optional scope" means an EMT that has been accredited by the Kern County medical director to perform those optional scope skills identified by the medical director. Accreditation of EMTs to practice optional skills shall be limited to those whose EMT certificate is active and are employed within Kern County by an employer who is part of the organized EMS system.

D. "Local accreditation" or "accreditation" or "accreditation to practice" means authorization by the Kern County medical director to practice as a paramedic within the jurisdiction of the county of Kern. Such authorization indicates that the paramedic has completed the requirements of California Code of Regulations, Title 22, Chapter 4, Section 100165.

E. "Mobile intensive care nurse" or "MICN" means a person who has successfully completed all MICN certification requirements established by the EMS division and has been certified as an MICN by the EMS division.

F. "Paramedic" or "EMT-P" or "mobile intensive care paramedic" means an individual who is educated and trained in all elements of prehospital advanced life support; whose scope of practice to provide advanced life support is in accordance with the standards prescribed by California Code of Regulations, Title 22, Chapter 4, and has a valid license issued pursuant to California Code of Regulations, Title 22, Chapter 4.

G. "Specialty designation" means a designation assigned by a fully executed county contract to an entity providing a specialized service as defined by county of Kern.

(Ord. No. G-8801, § 2, 10-23-18; Ord. No. G-8807, § 2, 12-18-18)

A. Emergency medical services fees are due and payable in full and shall be remitted to the director of public health services within thirty (30) days after the invoice is mailed.

B. Failure to pay within sixty (60) days of the billing is an infraction.

C. Fees for services performed by the emergency medical services program shall be established by uncodified ordinance.

D. The director of public health services may waive emergency medical services fees established within the uncodified ordinance at his discretion.

(Ord. No. G-8801, § 2, 10-23-18)

A. If any fee required by this chapter is not paid or mailed and postmarked prior to or on the delinquency date, in addition to such fee a penalty equal to ten percent (10%) shall be added to the fee. The term "delinquency date" means thirty (30) days after invoicing.

B. An additional ten percent (10%) shall be added to the outstanding fee and penalty fee for each additional thirty (30) days the balance remains unpaid.

C. Failure to pay the fee due and penalty, if any, within sixty (60) days of the billing is an infraction.

(Ord. No. G-8801, § 2, 10-23-18)

It is unlawful for any person to be employed in Kern County as an EMT without being certified by the Kern County EMS division. All EMTs with a valid certificate from another California county must register with the EMS division prior to employment in Kern County. The certification card issued by the EMS division shall be in addition to any other certificate, license, or permit required by the county of any other public entity.

(Ord. No. G-8801, § 2, 10-23-18)

A certification card shall be valid for a period of two (2) years from the date of course completion. A certification card may be renewed every two (2) years upon payment of the applicable fees and accomplishment of the prescribed recertification procedures as set forth by the EMS division.

(Ord. No. G-8801, § 2, 10-23-18)

A certification card issued by the EMS division to an individual is not transferable from one person to another, and is valid only for the specified time period.

(Ord. No. G-8801, § 2, 10-23-18)

It is unlawful for any person to be employed in Kern County as a paramedic, MICN, EMD, or EMT-Optional scope without being certified by the EMS division.

A. Certification may be issued to EMTs upon completion of all application requirements.

B. Accreditation may be issued to paramedics, MICNs, EMDs, and EMT-Option scope upon completion of all application requirements.

(Ord. No. G-8801, § 2, 10-23-18)

The EMS division shall issue the certification/accreditation card upon receipt of a completed application, documentation of course completion, recognizable photo identification, applicable fee, and other documentation as may be required to verify applicant's qualifications for certification/accreditation. An application for certification/accreditation must be submitted in the form prescribed by the EMS division.

(Ord. No. G-8801, § 2, 10-23-18)

The emergency medical services fees for certification and accreditation shall be established by uncodified ordinance.

(Ord. No. G-8801, § 2, 10-23-18)

A. The emergency medical services fees for exclusive operating area ground ambulance operating permit shall be established by uncodified ordinance.

B. Any single act of non-compliance with the Ambulance Services Performance Standards or Kern County Ordinance Code Chapter 8.12 will be assessed a penalty fee for each zone and for each month deemed non-compliant.

C. Any single act of breach of the Ambulance Service Performance Standards or Kern County Ordinance Code Chapter 8.12 will be assessed a penalty fee for each zone and for each month deemed in breach.

(Ord. No. G-8801, § 2, 10-23-18)

The emergency medical services fee for specialty designations shall be established by uncodified ordinance.

(Ord. No. G-8807, § 3, 12-18-18)

The director of public health may charge a fee for services provided by the emergency medical services division outside of the usual and customary, at the rate established by uncodified ordinance.

(Ord. No. G-8801, § 2, 10-23-18)

These fees shall remain in effect until modified by subsequent ordinance of the board of supervisors or adjusted by the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), all items, not seasonally adjusted, 1982-1984=100 reference base, effective July 1 of every year, commencing in 2019.

(Ord. No. G-8801, § 2, 10-23-18)