A. The Board shall prescribe by regulation the qualifications required for certification of emergency medical services providers, including those qualifications necessary for authorization to follow Do Not Resuscitate Orders pursuant to § 54.1-2987.1. Such regulations shall include criteria for determining whether an applicant's relevant practical experience and didactic and clinical components of education and training completed during his service as a member of any branch of the armed forces of the United States may be accepted by the Commissioner as evidence of satisfaction of the requirements for certification.
B. Each person desiring certification as an emergency medical services provider shall apply to the Commissioner upon a form prescribed by the Board. Upon receipt of such application, the Commissioner shall cause the applicant to be examined or otherwise determined to be qualified for certification. When determining whether an applicant is qualified for certification, the Commissioner shall consider and may accept relevant practical experience and didactic and clinical components of education and training completed by an applicant during his service as a member of any branch of the armed forces of the United States as evidence of satisfaction of the requirements for certification. If the Commissioner determines that the applicant meets the requirements for certification as an emergency medical services provider, he shall issue a certificate to the applicant. An emergency medical services provider certificate so issued shall be valid for a period required by law or prescribed by the Board. Any certificate so issued may be suspended at any time that the Commissioner determines that the holder no longer meets the qualifications prescribed for such emergency medical services provider. The Commissioner may temporarily suspend any certificate without notice, pending a hearing or informal fact-finding conference, if the Commissioner finds that there is a substantial danger to public health or safety. When the Commissioner has temporarily suspended a certificate pending a hearing, the Commissioner shall seek an expedited hearing in accordance with the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.).
C. The Board shall prescribe by regulation procedures and the qualifications required for the recertification of emergency medical services providers.
D. The Commissioner may issue a temporary certificate when he finds that it is in the public interest. A temporary certificate shall be valid for a period not exceeding 90 days.
E. The Board shall require each person who, on or after July 1, 2013, applies to be a volunteer with or employee of an emergency medical services agency to submit fingerprints and provide personal descriptive information to be forwarded along with his fingerprints through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for the purpose of obtaining his criminal history record information. The Central Criminal Records Exchange shall forward the results of the state and national records search to the Commissioner or his designee, who shall be a governmental entity. If an applicant is denied employment or service as a volunteer because of information appearing on his criminal history record and the applicant disputes the information upon which the denial was based, the Central Criminal Records Exchange shall, upon written request, furnish to the applicant the procedures for obtaining a copy of the criminal history record from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
F. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection E, an emergency medical services agency located in a locality having a local ordinance adopted in accordance with §§ 15.2-1503.1 and 19.2-389 shall require an applicant for employment or to serve as a volunteer to submit fingerprints and provide personal descriptive information to be provided directly to the Central Criminal Records Exchange to be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of obtaining criminal history records information for the applicant. The Central Criminal Records Exchange shall, upon receipt of an applicant's records or notification that no records exists, forward the results of the state and national records search to the county, city or town manager or chief law-enforcement officer for the locality in which the agency is located, or his designee, who shall be associated with a governmental entity. Upon receipt of the results of the state and national criminal history records search, the county, city or town manager or chief law-enforcement officer for the locality, or his designee, shall notify the Office of Emergency Medical Services regarding the applicant's eligibility for employment or to serve as a volunteer. Information provided to the Office of Emergency Medical Services shall be limited to notification as to whether the applicant is eligible for employment or to serve as a volunteer in accordance with requirements related to disqualifying offenses set forth in regulations of the Board and shall not include information regarding whether the applicant has been found ineligible for employment or to serve as a volunteer due to additional exclusionary criteria established by the locality. Whenever fingerprints are submitted to both authorities and it is deemed feasible and practical by the Central Criminal Records Exchange it shall forward the results of the fingerprint based state and national records search to the county, city or town manager or chief law enforcement officer for the locality in which the agency is located, or his designee, who shall be associated with a governmental entity, and to the Office of Emergency Medical Services.
1996, c. 899; 1997, c. 248; 1998, cc. 803, 854; 2008, c. 660; 2011, c. 497; 2013, cc. 72, 176, 331, 407; 2015, cc. 362, 502, 503.