Effective: September 29, 2017
Latest Legislation: House Bill 49 - 132nd General Assembly
(A)(1) There is hereby created the state board of emergency medical, fire, and transportation services within the division of emergency medical services of the department of public safety. The board shall consist of the members specified in this section who are residents of this state. The governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint all members of the board, except the employee of the department of public safety designated by the director of public safety under this section to be a member of the board. In making the appointments, the governor shall appoint only members with background or experience in emergency medical services or trauma care and shall attempt to include members representing urban and rural areas, various geographical regions of the state, and various schools of training.
(2) One member of the board shall be a physician certified by the American board of emergency medicine or the American osteopathic board of emergency medicine who is active in the practice of emergency medicine and is actively involved with an emergency medical service organization. The governor shall appoint this member from among three persons nominated by the Ohio chapter of the American college of emergency physicians and three persons nominated by the Ohio osteopathic association. One member shall be a physician certified by the American board of surgery or the American osteopathic board of surgery who is active in the practice of trauma surgery and is actively involved with emergency medical services. The governor shall appoint this member from among three persons nominated by the Ohio chapter of the American college of surgeons and three persons nominated by the Ohio osteopathic association. One member shall be a physician certified by the American academy of pediatrics or American osteopathic board of pediatrics who is active in the practice of pediatric emergency medicine and actively involved with an emergency medical service organization. The governor shall appoint this member from among three persons nominated by the Ohio chapter of the American academy of pediatrics and three persons nominated by the Ohio osteopathic association. One member shall be the administrator of a hospital located in this state. The governor shall appoint this member from among three persons nominated by OHA: the association for hospitals and health systems, three persons nominated by the Ohio osteopathic association, and three persons nominated by the association of Ohio children's hospitals. One member shall be an adult or pediatric trauma program manager or trauma program director who is involved in the daily management of a verified trauma center. The governor shall appoint this member from among three persons nominated by the Ohio nurses association, three persons nominated by the Ohio society of trauma nurse leaders, and three persons nominated by the Ohio state council of the emergency nurses association. One member shall be the chief of a fire department that is also an emergency medical service organization in which more than fifty per cent of the persons who provide emergency medical services are full-time paid employees. The governor shall appoint this member from among three persons nominated by the Ohio fire chiefs' association. One member shall be the chief of a fire department that is also an emergency medical service organization in which more than fifty per cent of the persons who provide emergency medical services are volunteers. The governor shall appoint this member from among three persons nominated by the Ohio fire chiefs' association. One member shall be a person who is certified to teach under section 4765.23 of the Revised Code and holds a valid certificate to practice as an EMT, AEMT, or paramedic. The governor shall appoint this member from among three persons nominated by the Ohio emergency medical technician instructors association and the Ohio instructor/coordinators' society. One member shall be an EMT, AEMT, or paramedic, and one member shall be a paramedic. The governor shall appoint these members from among three EMTs or AEMTs and three paramedics nominated by the Ohio association of professional fire fighters and three EMTs, three AEMTs, and three paramedics nominated by the northern Ohio fire fighters. One member shall be an EMT, AEMT, or paramedic, and one member shall be a paramedic. The governor shall appoint these members from among three EMTs or AEMTs and three paramedics nominated by the Ohio state firefighter's association. One member shall be a person whom the governor shall appoint from among an EMT, AEMT, or a paramedic nominated by the Ohio association of emergency medical services or the Ohio ambulance and medical transportation association. One member shall be an EMT, AEMT, or a paramedic, whom the governor shall appoint from among three persons nominated by the Ohio ambulance and medical transportation association. One member shall be a paramedic, whom the governor shall appoint from among three persons nominated by the Ohio ambulance and medical transportation association. One member shall be the owner or operator of a private emergency medical service organization whom the governor shall appoint from among three persons nominated by the Ohio ambulance and medical transportation association. One member shall be a member of a third-service emergency medical service agency or organization whom the governor shall appoint from among three persons nominated by the Ohio EMS chiefs association. One member shall be a provider of mobile intensive care unit transportation in this state whom the governor shall appoint from among three persons nominated by the Ohio association of critical care transport. One member shall be a provider of air-medical transportation in this state whom the governor shall appoint from among three persons nominated by the Ohio association of critical care transport. One member shall be the owner or operator of a nonemergency medical service organization in this state that provides ambulette services whom the governor shall appoint from among three persons nominated by the Ohio ambulance and medical transportation association.
The governor may refuse to appoint any of the persons nominated by one or more organizations under division (A)(2) of this section, except the employee of the department of public safety designated by the director of public safety under this section to be a member of the board. In that event, the organization or organizations shall continue to nominate the required number of persons until the governor appoints to the board one or more of the persons nominated by the organization or organizations.
The director of public safety shall designate an employee of the department of public safety to serve as a member of the board at the director's pleasure. This member shall serve as a liaison between the department and the division of emergency medical services in cooperation with the executive director of the board.
(B) Terms of office of all members appointed by the governor shall be for three years, each term ending on the same day of the same month as did the term it succeeds. Each member shall hold office from the date of appointment until the end of the term for which the member was appointed. A member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term until the member's successor takes office, or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.
Each vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. A member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term.
The term of a member shall expire if the member ceases to meet any of the requirements to be appointed as that member. The governor may remove any member from office for neglect of duty, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance, after an adjudication hearing held in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(C) The members of the board shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in carrying out their duties as board members.
(D) The board shall organize by annually selecting a chair and vice-chair from among its members. The board may adopt bylaws to regulate its affairs. A majority of all members of the board shall constitute a quorum. No action shall be taken without the concurrence of a majority of all members of the board. The board shall meet at least four times annually and at the call of the chair. The chair shall call a meeting on the request of the executive director or the medical director of the board or on the written request of five members. The board shall maintain written or electronic records of its meetings.
(E) Upon twenty-four hours' notice from a member of the board, the member's employer shall release the member from the member's employment duties to attend meetings of the full board. Nothing in this division requires the employer of a member of the board to compensate the member for time the member is released from employment duties under this paragraph, but any civil immunity, workers' compensation, disability, or similar coverage that applies to a member of the board as a result of the member's employment shall continue to apply while the member is released from employment duties under this paragraph.