Bill Text: NJ A3059 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Directs hospitals to establish protocols for dispatch and patient transport by specialty care transportation units used for inter-facility transfers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-06-24 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [A3059 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A3059-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman NANCY F. MUNOZ
District 21 (Essex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Directs hospitals to establish protocols for dispatch and patient transport by specialty care transportation units used for inter-facility transfers.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning specialty care transportation units and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A general hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) shall establish protocols to ensure immediate dispatch, timely patient pick-up from the sending hospital, and transport to the receiving hospital by a specialty care transportation unit (SCTU) used for patient inter-facility transfers.
b. A general hospital shall establish contingency SCTU transport protocols in the event that the hospital's designated SCTU is not immediately available for dispatch.
c. A hospital shall submit its protocols established pursuant to this section to the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services for review.
2. The commissioner shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the 90th day after enactment, but the commissioner may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill directs general hospitals, licensed under P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), to establish protocols to ensure immediate dispatch, timely patient pick-up from the sending hospital, and transport to the receiving hospital by a specialty care transportation unit (SCTU) used for patient inter-facility transfers. In addition, this bill requires hospitals to establish contingency SCTU transport protocols in the event that a hospital's SCTU is not immediately available for dispatch. This bill also requires hospitals to submit its protocols to the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services for review.
SCTUs provide transport between health care facilities for those patients requiring a standard of care greater than that of a Basic Life Support ambulance. SCTUs transport high level acuity, critically ill and compromised patients between health care facilities when patients' needs exceed a level of care currently available to them. SCTUs are generally stocked with advanced life support equipment, including, but not limited to, medications, cardiac monitoring equipment, and ventilators, and are staffed with skilled health care professionals.
The Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) licenses SCTU providers. Currently, there are 31 SCTU providers licensed by DHSS.
Under this bill, the commissioner is to adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this bill.
The bill takes effect on the 90th day after enactment, but authorizes the commissioner to take anticipatory administrative action in advance as necessary for its implementation.
