§ 7.3-8. Rights and duties upon certification.

Any certificate issued under this chapter shall require the certificate holder and its employees to comply with or observe the following:

(1)

Clay County Fire Rescue shall be the only class A certificate holder in the county, and shall be responsible for providing emergency and nonemergency prehospital non-transport and transport, ALS and BLS services within the county;

(2)

Certificate holders of class B, C, D, E or F certificates must be capable of emergency response/service upon request of the board or the fire chief in case of disaster or other events beyond the normal capability of Clay County Fire Rescue. Nothing contained herein shall be interpreted to limit the ability of a private ambulance company or a municipality holding the proper certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the board from providing stand-by services and transport from a scheduled event;

(3)

Each certificate holder must provide to Clay County Fire Rescue any revisions or modifications made to its EMS standard operating policies and procedures and medical treatment protocols, all of which shall include all general and/or specific instructions to personnel as to the exact nature of their duties and responsibilities, when applicable, and under what conditions, as well as any revisions or modifications made to its equipment list, which revisions or modifications shall be subject to approval by the county's medical director;

(4)

Each certificate holder must comply with the directives of and oversight by the county's medical director who is responsible for ensuring uniform standards of care within the county;

(5)

Each certificate holder must comply with all lawful directives of the fire chief;

(6)

Each certificate holder must provide continuous and uninterrupted service within the service area as well as provide services to adjacent areas or routes, when requested to do so by the fire chief;

(7)

Each certificate holder must maintain an appropriate number of ambulances at all times. In no event, however, shall any certificate holder operate less than two (2) fully staffed operating ambulances with at least one (1) spare ambulance, unless its certificate provides otherwise;

(8)

Each certificate holder must comply with the lights and siren section set forth in section 7.3-18. The board, in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens and patients requiring transport, has enacted restrictions on lights and siren responses to only those times that they have a positive effect on the patient's condition to justify the additional risk of danger associated with their use. Each certificate holder shall ensure that its ambulances are driven in a safe and lawful manner at all times and that its ambulances will use lights and siren only for properly authorized events and in compliance with section 7.3-18. The certificate holders, with the exception of Clay County Fire Rescue and any municipalities, will notify Clay County Fire Rescue, twenty-four (24) hours per day, seven (7) days a week, of all lights and siren responses within the county;

(9)

In those instances that two (2) certificate holders respond to a medical emergency, then the first to arrive in a transport capable vehicle will assume patient care and transport decision responsibilities;

(10)

It shall be a violation of this chapter for any emergency medical service vehicle or rescue unit which is not responding to an emergency medical call, or which is not transport capable under this chapter, to respond using its lights and siren in Clay County. This subsection shall not apply to any Emergency Medical Service Vehicle or Rescue Unit operated by Clay County Fire Rescue;

(11)

All certificate holders shall keep such records as may be required by the federal or state government, or by this chapter, and shall furnish or make such records available to the fire chief for inspection at reasonable times and places. These records shall include ambulance run sheets, billing records, radio logs, and such other operating and patient information as may be required by the fire chief for inspection purposes;

(12)

Certificate holders shall not advertise by any means the ability to provide services in the county that they are not authorized to provide;

(13)

Ambulances and rescue units operating in Clay County under a certificate must be able to communicate with Clay County Fire Rescue dispatch and field units utilizing the radio frequencies identified in the State of Florida Communications Plan to include but not limited to the local medical channel and regional medical channel. Those holding a class A, E or F certificate also are required to be able to communicate on the county's 800 mhz radio system.

(14)

Each BLS ambulance shall be staffed with a minimum of two (2) Florida certified emergency medical technicians; each ALS ambulance shall be staffed with a minimum of one (1) Florida certified emergency medical technician and one (1) Florida certified paramedic for ALS service;

(15)

Assigned staff on board each ambulance shall be readily identified as to the level of certification, either emergency medical technician, or paramedic, or other certification level as recognized by the Florida Department of Health;

(16)

All certificate holders shall maintain liability insurance in such amounts and with such coverage as specified in Section 768.25(5), Florida Statutes, and Chapter 64J-1, Florida Administrative Code, naming the board as an additional named insured;

(17)

Each certificate holder shall operate in conformance with all federal, state, or local laws or ordinances, and all rules and regulations, resolutions or policies thereunder and any conditions or limitations imposed by the board upon issuance of the certificate; and

(18)

Each certificate holder shall comply with the directives of deficiency correction notices issued by the fire chief.

Municipalities within the county are exempt from section 7.3-8, numbers (8), (10), and (15).

(Ord. No. 99-25, § 2, 5-25-99; Ord. No. 07-14, § 1(Exh. A), 3-13-07; Ord. No. 2018-23, § 1, 5-22-18)