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HomeMy WebLinkAbout13207ORDINANCE NO. 13,207 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 5 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK PERTAINING TO AMBULANCES; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS: SECTION 1. Chapter 5 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Little Rock, Arkansas pertaining to ambulances is hereby amended to read as follows: CHAPTER 5: AMBULANCES Sec. 5 -1. Definitions a) Ambulance is defined as any motor vehicle constructed, reconstructed or arranged for the purpose of transporting ill or injured persons. The definition shall apply to any and all such vehicles operated in the City, whether or not the regular base for operating and dispatch is located outside the City. b) Ambulance Driver is defined to be an individual whose occupation it is to drive an ambulance. c) Ambulance Operator is defined to be any individual, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of transporting the injured, ill or dead and using the streets of the City of Little Rock for such purpose, but shall not include invalid coaches or funeral coaches. d) Ambulance Attendant is defined to be an individual who has responsibility for caring for an ill or injured person who is being transported as a patient in an ambulance. e) Board of Directors of the City is defined to include the Board itself and any other officer or subdivision of the municipal government duly designated by the Board. f) City Manager is defined to include not only that person, but also any officer or employee of the City duly designated by him. Sec. 5 -2. Ambulance not Emergency Vehicle An ambulance shall not be considered an authorized emergency vehicle entitled to the privileges and exemptions of authorized emergency vehicles under any circumstances. Sec. 5 -3. Exemption from certain traffic laws. a) The driver of an ambulance while same is in operation as such may: 1) Park or stand, irrespective of other ordinances of this City, and may disregard traffic regulations pertaining to usage of lanes, provided, however, that no traffic lane marker shall be disregarded if there shall be vehicles in or so near the immediate area, so as to create any danger or hazard to any person or property by proceeding in disregard of any such traffic lane marker; provided further that at all times the flashing light described in subsection 2 (2) hereof shall be in use. 2) While moving, parking or standing in connection with its use as an ambulance, display a flashing red light, visible from the top of said ambulance for a distance of five hundred (500) feet under normal atmospheric conditions to the front, sides and rear of said vehicle. Page 2 b) No ambulance shall violate any traffic ordinances of this City other than as described in subsection (a) above, and shall not, while within the limits of this City, use any audible signal by bell, siren or exhaust whistle, or otherwise, with which any such ambulance may be equipped. Sec. 5 -4. Operator's License Required; Exemption. a) General Rule. No person shall engage in the business of ambulance operator in the City unless he shall first obtain a license from the City as hereinafter provided. b) Exemptions. Subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to an ambulance operator whose regular base for operation and dispatch is located outside the City of Little Rock where such service is transporting.persons to medical facilities within Little Rock. This exemption shall not be construed as to exempt any ambulances from complying with the motor vehicle ordinances of the City of Little Rock. Provided further, no such ambulance operator whose regular base for operation and dispatch is located outside the City shall respond to a call from a location in the City except when approved to do so by the Little Rock City Manager's Office in situations where such office has determined that all licensed ambulance services are busy or in situations of a declared disaster. Sec. 5 -5. Application for License. a) An Application for license as ambulance service operator shall be made upon such forms as are furnished by the City Manager. Said application shall contain the following: 1. Individual Applicant: Name, age and address; Partnership Applicant: Business name of the partnership, name, age and address of each partner; Corporate Applicant: Names and addresses of principal officers, and names and addresses of all directors. 2. Number of Class 1 -B ambulances (minimum class of 1 -B) model and state license number of each vehicle, statement of certification that all owned ambulances have been inspected and passed such inspection by the Arkansas State Department of Health as meeting the requirements for Class 1 -B. (Minimum class). 3. Location of Operation 4. A list of charges to be made by the applicant for services rendered to the public and from time to time as changed to be filed with the Office of the City Manager. b) Application is to be accompanied by an application fee of $25.00. Said application fee does not relieve such ambulance service operators from the payment of occupation or privilege license tax now or hereafter levied by the City. Sec. 5 -6. Same, Conditions for Granting, Liability Insurance No license shall be granted an applicant as ambulance service operator unless the Board of Directors determines that: 1) the public convenience and necessity requires the proposed ambulance service; 2) the applicant is a fit person and possesses the necessary vehicle and medical equipment to render the proposed service; and 3) the applicant has in force at the time his application is approved an insurance policy providing insurance coverage for each and every ambulance owned, operated, or leased by the applicant indemnifying the applicant for liability incurred by reason of the injury or death of persons in accidents and property damage caused by accidents, resulting from any cause for which the owner of such ambulance would be liable, regardless of whether the ambulance was being driven by the owner, his agent, or lessee; such insurance policy or policies to carry minimum limits of one hundred thousand dollars for injury or death of any one person, three hundred thousand dollars for injury or death resulting to more than one person as a result of any one accident and fifty thousand dollars property damage. Page 3 Sec. 5 -7. Period of Service Operator's License, Renewal. All licenses to ambulance service operators issued in pursuance of the authority of this chapter shall extend only for a period of not more than one year and shall be renewable only by authority of the Board of Directors. During the franchise period, such ambulance service operators will inform the Office of the City Manager on a quarterly basis as to the increase or decrease of vehicles, on -board equipment, and personnel. Sec. 5 -8. Ambulance Driver or Attendant, License Required, Exemption, Application and Qualifications. a) General Rule. No person shall drive an ambulance in the City of Little Rock or no person shall attend an ambulance in the City of Little Rock unless he shall first obtain a license from the City as hereinafter provided. b) Exemption. Provided that no driver or attendant whose regular base of operation is located outside the City shall be required to procure a license. No ambulance driver or attendant whose base for operation is outside the City of Little Rock shall respond to a call from a location within the City except after approval by the City Manager in situations where licensed drivers or attendants are busy or in the event of a declared disaster. c) Application. An application for license as ambulance driver or ambulance attendant shall be made upon forms furnished by the City Manager. Said applications shall contain the following: 1. Name, age, and address. 2. Chauffeur's license number and expiration date. (For ambulance driver only,) 3. Whether or not applicant has ever been licensed as an ambulance driver or ambulance attendant by any other city, name of city, if that license was ever suspended or revoked, and if so, for what reasons. 4. Number of convictions for moving traffic violations; convictions of felonies and misdemeanors, number and particulars of each. d) Every application shall be accompanied by an application fee of five ($5.00) dollars. e) No license shall be granted an applicant as ambulance driver or ambulance attendant until the City Manager determines that the following qualifications have been met: 1. Attendant: Furnish proof that he holds a current certificate in an Emergency Medical Technology Course recognized by the Arkansas State Department of Health. 2. Driver: 21 years of age and possesses a valid chauffeur's license. Attendant: 18 years of age. 3. Does not habitually use or addicted to narcotics or intoxicating liquors. 4. Can speak, read and write the English language. 5. Not subject to epilepsy, heart trouble or other infirmity of body or mind. (Medical certificate required.) 6. Has two or less convictions of moving traffic violations in the last two years; has not been convicted of a felony or major misdemeanor within the past five years; has never been convicted of any crimes of moral turpitude, is not charged at time of application with either felony or misdemeanor charges. Page 4 Sec. 5 -9. Renewal of Driver or Attendant License. a) All licenses to ambulance drivers or ambulance attendants issued in pursuance of the authority of Section 5 -8 shall extend for a period of one year. Each application fee for renewal shall be accompanied by an application fee of Five ($5.00) dollars. Sec. 5 -10. Operating Rules and Regulations. a) General. All license holders shall comply with the following regulations: 1. Each licensee shall provide 24 -hour continuous service. 2. Each licensee shall comply with a 2 minute dispatch time for each request. 3. Each vehicle, when responding to a request, shall be attended by a minimum of two individuals, one of whom must be a licensed physician, nurse, an Emergency Medical Technician, Basic or Advanced, or any combination thereof. The trained individual shall be in the patient compartment at all times during patient transport. 4. When the originally designated medical facility is full, or cannot handle additional patients, the central dispatch center will route the driver of said ambulance to the next closest medical facility. 5. Each licensee shall insure that each vehicle meets the vehicle and on -board medical equipment specifications as required by the Arkansas State Department of Health for a minimum class of Class 1 -B. 6. Every licensee shall at all times have stationed at his place of business a person to promptly answer all calls for service, promptly dispatch ambulances, and be generally responsible for the conduct of business. 7. Ambulances will be dispatched by the central dispatch center, such center to be designated by the City Manager. Each licensee shall report status after runs to the central dispatch center. In the event that an ambulance company receives a direct request for service, the central dispatch center shall be informed of such request immediately. b) Rules and Regulations for drivers and attendants: No driver or attendant shall: 1. Refuse to promptly transport or attend any sick or injured person after responding to a call except that the driver or attendant shall not be required to transport or attend a person who has a past due account with the operator unless that person is in need of emergency medical care, as determined by the emergency medical technician on the ambulance, a Little Rock Fire Department or Police Department Emergency Medical Technician. 2. Demand or receive compensation other than that established by the sworn application of the operator, or fail to give a receipt for monies received. 3. Give or allow a rebate or commission not provided for in the established rate. 4. Induce or seek to induce a change in destination to or from a hospital or other place specified by the person engaging the ambulance unless the destination requested by that person does not have the facilities or personnel required for that person's medical condition or is full. Page 5 5. Induce or seek to induce any person engaging an ambulance to patronize or retain the services of any hospital, convalescent home, mortuary, cemetery, private accident investigator, attorney, nurse or any person that could benefit financially as a result of the inducement. 6. Fail to keep his person clean and presentable when on duty. 7. Use abusive or obscene language. 8. Release the patient from his care until all reasonable efforts have been made to transfer the patient to responsible person(s) at a medical facility. 9. Use a flashing red light unless on a call. 10. Disobey the lawful orders of a policeman regarding the non - medical aspects of the situation at the scene of an accident or other emergency. 11. Smoke, while driving an ambulance when occupied by a patient or attending a patient. Sec. 5 -11. Equipment Regulations. License holders shall maintain in good operating condition and ready for use all equipment that shall be capable of rendering a satisfactory ambulance service. The ambulance should be large enough for three persons in the patient compartment. Clean linens shall be used for each patient and the ambulance interior scrubbed with antiseptic daily and after each patient. Ambulance exteriors shall be kept clean. Sec. 5 -12. Inspection of Ambulances. Inspections of all ambulances may be made at any time without notice by the City Manager and by the State Health Department at the request of the City Manager. If upon inspection an ambulance fails to meet the standards set forth by this chapter, it shall be withdrawn from service until such time as it complies with the requirements of this chapter. Sec. 5 -13. Driver or Attendant License. Suspension and Revocation. a) Suspension of license. An ambulance driver or attendant license may be suspended by the City Manager for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days for any of the following reasons: 1) Violation of any ordinances of the City which reflects unfavorably on the fitness of the licensee to offer public service. b) A driver or attendant license may be revoked for any of the following reasons: 1. Upon conviction of any felony or major misdemeanor. 2. Upon conviction of operating an ambulance or attending a patient while under the influence of drugs or intoxicating liquors. 3. For leaving the scene of an accident in which the ambulance is involved except when enroute to or transporting critical patients when there is no serious injury as a result of the accident. 4. For permitting any other person to use his license. 5. For obliterating or erasing any official entry on his license. 6. Upon conviction of a third traffic violation while operating an ambulance during any one (1) license year. Page 6 7. Misrepresentation of any material facts used by a driver or attendant in his application for a license. c) Eligibility for new license. No person whose license has been revoked shall be eligible to receive a new license until one (1) year from the date of the revocation. Sec. 5 -14. Ambulance Service Operator's License, Grounds for Revocation. a) The license of any ambulance service operator shall be permanently revoked by the Board of Directors for any of the following reasons: 1. The operator has failed to or neglected to render the service authorized by his license. 2. The operator has been convicted of a felony of any major misdemeanor. 3. The license was obtained by an application in which any material fact was omitted or stated falsely. 4. The operator has persisted in permitting his motor vehicles to be operated in violation of any law. 5. The operator has failed to comply with any of the provisions of this Chapter, or has willfully or knowingly violated any of the provisions of this Chapter. 6. The operator has given or allowed a rebate or commission not provided for in the rates established by the service operator's application. 7. The operator or his agent has induced or sought to induce a change of destination to or from a hospital or other place specified by the person hiring the ambulance, except in cases where the designated facility does not have personnel or necessary facilities for the patient's medical condition or is full. 8. The operator or his agent knowingly recommends, gives favor, or advantage to any mortuary operating in the City. 9. The operator shall not allow any vehicle to be operated without insurance required by this Chapter. 10. The operator allows any ambulance owned, operated or leased by him to be driven on a medical response by any person not licensed as a driver. 11. Permitting any ambulance owned, operated or leased by him to respond to a call for ambulance service when such ambulance has been directed to be withdrawn from service under Section 5 -12. 12. The ambulance service accepts a request for service and fails to notify the caller and dispatch center at the time of such request for service that all ambulances are dispatched and the service cannot respond and meet the two minute dispatch time requirement and /or simply cannot respond. Sec. 5 -15. Penalty; Operating without License. Any person who shall drive or attend an ambulance or engage in the business of ambulance service operator without having first obtained the license required by this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor which shall' be punished by the imposition of a fine in an amount not less than fifty ($50.00) dollars and not more than five hundred ($500.00) dollars or a jail sentence of not less than three days nor more than thirty days or both fine and jail sentence. Page 7 SECTION 2. There is an immediate need for the effective regulation of ambulance service in the City of Little Rock in order to protect the public peace, health and safety, therefore an emergency exists and this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval. PASSED: October 5, 1976 ATTEST: 9doLlu City Clerk r APPROVED: 4ayor