Sec. 19a-175. (Formerly Sec. 19-73u). Definitions. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 19a-175. (Formerly Sec. 19-73u). Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

      (1) "Emergency medical service system" means a system which provides for the arrangement of personnel, facilities and equipment for the efficient, effective and coordinated delivery of health care services under emergency conditions;

      (2) "Patient" means an injured, ill, crippled or physically handicapped person requiring assistance and transportation;

      (3) "Ambulance" means a motor vehicle specifically designed to carry patients;

      (4) "Ambulance service" means an organization which transports patients;

      (5) "Emergency medical technician" means an individual who has successfully completed the training requirements established by the commissioner and has been certified by the Department of Public Health;

      (6) "Ambulance driver" means a person whose primary function is driving an ambulance;

      (7) "Emergency medical technician instructor" means a person who is certified by the Department of Public Health to teach courses, the completion of which is required in order to become an emergency medical technician;

      (8) "Communications facility" means any facility housing the personnel and equipment for handling the emergency communications needs of a particular geographic area;

      (9) "Life saving equipment" means equipment used by emergency medical personnel for the stabilization and treatment of patients;

      (10) "Emergency medical service organization" means any organization whether public, private or voluntary which offers transportation or treatment services to patients under emergency conditions;

      (11) "Invalid coach" means a vehicle used exclusively for the transportation of nonambulatory patients, who are not confined to stretchers, to or from either a medical facility or the patient's home in nonemergency situations or utilized in emergency situations as a backup vehicle when insufficient emergency vehicles exist;

      (12) "Rescue service" means any organization, whether profit or nonprofit, whose primary purpose is to search for persons who have become lost or to render emergency service to persons who are in dangerous or perilous circumstances;

      (13) "Provider" means any person, corporation or organization, whether profit or nonprofit, whose primary purpose is to deliver medical care or services, including such related medical care services as ambulance transportation;

      (14) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Public Health;

      (15) "Paramedic" means a person licensed pursuant to section 20-206ll;

      (16) "Commercial ambulance service" means an ambulance service which primarily operates for profit;

      (17) "Licensed ambulance service" means a commercial ambulance service or a volunteer or municipal ambulance service issued a license by the commissioner;

      (18) "Certified ambulance service" means a municipal or volunteer ambulance service issued a certificate by the commissioner;

      (19) "Management service" means an employment organization that does not own or lease ambulances or other emergency medical vehicles and that provides emergency medical technicians or paramedics to an emergency medical service organization;

      (20) "Automatic external defibrillator" means a device that: (A) Is used to administer an electric shock through the chest wall to the heart; (B) contains internal decision-making electronics, microcomputers or special software that allows it to interpret physiologic signals, make medical diagnosis and, if necessary, apply therapy; (C) guides the user through the process of using the device by audible or visual prompts; and (D) does not require the user to employ any discretion or judgment in its use;

      (21) "Mutual aid call" means a call for emergency medical services that, pursuant to the terms of a written agreement, is responded to by a secondary or alternate emergency medical services provider if the primary or designated emergency medical services provider is unable to respond because such primary or designated provider is responding to another call for emergency medical services or the ambulance or nontransport emergency vehicle operated by such primary or designated provider is out of service. For purposes of this subdivision, "nontransport emergency vehicle" means a vehicle used by emergency medical technicians or paramedics in responding to emergency calls that is not used to carry patients;

      (22) "Municipality" means the legislative body of a municipality or the board of selectmen in the case of a municipality in which the legislative body is a town meeting;

      (23) "Primary service area" means a specific geographic area to which one designated emergency medical services provider is assigned for each category of emergency medical response services; and

      (24) "Primary service area responder" means an emergency medical services provider who is designated to respond to a victim of sudden illness or injury in a primary service area.

      (P.A. 74-305, S. 1, 19; P.A. 75-112, S. 1, 18; P.A. 77-268, S. 1; 77-349, S. 1; 77-614, S. 323, 587, 610; P.A. 78-303, S. 85, 136; P.A. 81-259, S. 1, 3; P.A. 87-79; 87-420, S. 2, 14; P.A. 90-172, S. 1; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-180, S. 56, 166; P.A. 97-311, S. 15; P.A. 98-62, S. 2; 98-195, S. 3; P.A. 00-151, S. 1, 14; P.A. 06-195, S. 34.)

      History: P.A. 75-112 deleted Subdiv. (f) defining "commission", relettering remaining Subsecs. accordingly, added Subdiv. (o) defining "commissioner" and substituted commissioner of health for commission on hospitals and health care where necessary; P.A. 77-268 defined "health systems agency" rather than "comprehensive health planning agency" in Subdiv. (b); P.A. 77-349 added Subdiv. (p) defining "paramedic"; P.A. 77-614 and P.A. 78-303 replaced commissioner and department of health with commissioner and department of health services, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 81-259 added Subdivs. (q) to (s) defining "commercial ambulance service", "licensed ambulance service" and "certified ambulance service"; Sec. 19-73u transferred to Sec. 19a-175 in 1983; P.A. 87-79 redefined "invalid coach" to specify applicability re transportation of nonambulatory patients not confined to stretchers; P.A. 87-420 deleted Subdiv. (b) defining "health systems agency", relettering remaining Subdivs. accordingly; P.A. 90-172 added the definition of "management service"; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-180 replaced alphabetic Subdiv. indicators with numeric indicators, effective June 3, 1996; P.A. 97-311 redefined "paramedic"; P.A. 98-62 added Subdiv. (20) defining "automatic external defibrillator"; P.A. 98-195 amended Subdiv. (14) by deleting "acting through the Office of Emergency Medical Services" and amended Subdivs. (17) and (18), replacing Office of Emergency Medical Services with "commissioner" (Revisor's note: In Subdiv. (7) the phrase "... to teach courses, the completion of which are required ..." was changed editorially by the Revisors to "... to teach courses, the completion of which is required ..."); P.A. 00-151 made technical changes and added new Subdivs. (21) to (24) defining "mutual aid call", "municipality", "primary service area" and "primary service area responder", effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 06-195 redefined "management service" in Subdiv. (19), effective June 7, 2006.

      Annotations to former section 19-73u:

      Section 19-73u et seq. cited. 35 CS 136.

      Subsec. (a):

      Cited. 35 CS 136.

      Subsec. (k):

      Cited. 37 CS 124.