The purpose of this division is to declare that the city fire
department is the sole provider of emergency ambulance response to
emergency calls for service and to regulate private ambulance service
within the city.
(Ordinance 2918, sec. 2, adopted 8/12/19)
The following words and phrases, when used in this division,
shall, for the purpose of this division, have the meanings respectively
ascribed to them in this section:
Any motor vehicle constructed, reconstructed, arranged, equipped,
or used for the purpose of transporting sick or injured persons.
The act of responding with an ambulance to a request for
transportation of a sick or injured person.
A person who has the duty of performing or assisting in the
performance of an ambulance call, including driving or acting as an
attendant on an ambulance.
The City of Katy, Texas.
The provision of medical care by a critical care transport
team to a patient requiring critical care transport by a critical
care transport agency such that the failure to initiate on an urgent
basis or maintain during transport acute medical interventions, pharmacological
interventions, or technologies would likely result in sudden, clinically
significant or life threatening deterioration in the patient's condition.
The director of the department designated by the mayor to
enforce and administer this division, or the director's authorized
representative.
Any circumstance that calls for immediate action and in which
the element of time in transporting the sick or injured for medical
treatment is essential to the health, life, or limb of the person.
Such circumstances include, but are not limited to, accidents generally,
acts of violence resulting in personal injury, and illnesses.
An ambulance operated or approved to operate by a member
of the fire department, or any town, county, state, or agency of the
United States, specially designed, constructed, equipped, and used
for transporting the sick or injured in answer to an emergency call.
Any request for ambulance service that is made by telephone
or other means of communication in circumstances that are, or have
been represented to be, an emergency.
Care provided to the sick or injured during emergency transportation
to a medical facility and includes any necessary stabilization of
the sick or injured in connection with that transportation.
A person in whom a sickness or injury may cause a significant
risk to the person's life or limb. Such sickness or injury may include,
but is not limited to, trauma (major injury to the body, head, or
extremities), chest pain, abdominal pain, unconsciousness, delirium,
imminent delivery of a child, and serious infection.
An emergency ambulance trip, requiring the use of warning
lights or sirens, to the place where an emergency exists or from the
place of the emergency to a hospital, medical clinic or office, or
other appropriate destination for the patient.
The chief of the fire department of the city or the chief's
duly authorized representative.
The fire department of the city.
A registered nurse, physician, or respiratory therapist specially
trained in the emergency and transport care of newborn and pediatric
patients.
To drive or to be in control of an ambulance.
The driver of an ambulance, the owner of an ambulance, or
the holder of a private ambulance service license.
The person to whom state license plates for a vehicle were
issued.
Any individual, corporation, business, trust, partnership,
association, or other legal entity.
The chief of police of the city or the chief's duly authorized
representative.
An ambulance constructed, equipped, and used for transporting
sick, injured, or deceased persons under circumstances that do not
constitute an emergency and have not been represented as an emergency.
The business of transporting, for compensation, sick, injured,
or deceased persons under circumstances that do not constitute an
emergency and have not been represented as an emergency.
A permit issued by the city to allow a private ambulance
service to operate within the city. A private ambulance service becomes
registered when it applies, meets the requirements specified in this
division, and has been approved by the city.
A person or entity authorized under this division to engage
in private ambulance service. The term includes any owner, operator,
driver, ambulance personnel, employee, or agent of the licensed business,
but does not include a subcontractor.
Any parade, sporting event, concert, or other event or gathering
requiring on-site standby medical personnel.
A vehicle that is designed for responding to and transporting
sick or injured persons by any means of transportation other than
by standard automotive ground ambulance or rotor or fixed wing aircraft
and that has sufficient staffing, equipment and supplies to provide
for the specialized needs of the patient transported. This category
includes, but is not limited to, water craft, off-road vehicles, and
specially designed, configured or equipped vehicles used for transporting
special care patients such as critical care or burn patients.
Any street, alley, avenue, boulevard, drive, highway or other
surface commonly used for the purpose of travel within the corporate
limits of the city.
(Ordinance 2918, sec. 3, adopted 8/12/19)
(a)
The
fire department shall provide all emergency ambulance response to
emergency calls for service within the city except as provided herein.
(b)
The
fire department shall provide all special event emergency medical
services (EMS) upon the streets, alleys or any public way or place
within the city; provided, however, the fire department may authorize
registered private ambulance services to provide special event services
when fire department ambulances are not available.
(c)
The
city shall charge fees for emergency ambulance services in the city
provided in response to a call received by the fire department requesting
the services.
(d)
The
person receiving emergency ambulance service, whether transported
by ambulance or treated without being transported by ambulance and
any person contracting for the service shall be responsible for payment
of all fees. In the case of service received by a minor, the parent
or guardian of the minor shall be responsible for payment of all fees.
(Ordinance 2918, sec. 4, adopted 8/12/19)
(a)
A
person commits an offense if he operates a private ambulance service
within the city without a valid private ambulance service registration
issued by the fire department or operates or attempts to operate a
private emergency ambulance service within the city in violation of
this division.
(b)
A
person commits an offense if he advertises or causes to be advertised
the operation of a private ambulance service that does not have a
valid private ambulance service registration granted under this division
when the advertisement is reasonably calculated to be seen by persons
seeking private ambulance service in the city.
(c)
A
person commits an offense if he transports or offers to transport,
for compensation, a sick, injured, or deceased person by private ambulance
from a location within the city to a location either inside or outside
the city without holding or being employed by a person holding a valid
private ambulance service registration issued under this division.
(d)
A
person commits an offense if he hires or employs a private ambulance
service to pick up a sick, injured, or deceased person in the city
when he knows the private ambulance service does not have a valid
private ambulance service registration under this division.
(e)
No
person shall furnish, operate, conduct, maintain, advertise or otherwise
be engaged in the operation of medical transfer services upon the
streets of the city without having first registered in accordance
with the terms and provisions of this division.
(Ordinance 2918, sec. 5, adopted 8/12/19)
(a)
To
obtain a private ambulance service registration, a person must make
written application to the fire department upon a form provided for
that purpose. The application must be signed by an applicant who is
the owner of the private ambulance service and notarized.
(b)
The
application must be submitted annually and include the following:
(1)
The name, address, telephone number and email address of the applicant,
the trade name under which the applicant does business, and the street
address and telephone number of the business establishment from which
the private ambulance service will be operated;
(2)
The form of business of the applicant and, if the business is a sole
proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or association, a copy of
the documents establishing the business and the name and address of
each person with a direct interest in the business;
(3)
A statement of the nature and character of the service that the applicant
proposes to provide, the facts showing the demand for the service,
the experience that the applicant has had in providing such service,
the fees charged for the service, and the time period, if any, that
the applicant provided such service within the city; the number and
description of vehicles to be operated in the proposed service, including
the year, make, model, vehicle identification number, and state registration
plate number and the class, size, design, and color scheme (including
color photograph) of each ambulance;
(4)
Documentary evidence from an insurance company indicating the applicant
has obtained liability insurance as required by this division;
(5)
Documentary evidence of payment of ad valorem taxes owed on the real
and personal property to be used in connection with the operation
of the proposed service if the business establishment is located in
the city;
(6)
A list, to be current at all times, of the owners and management
personnel of the private ambulance service including names, addresses,
dates of birth, state driver's registration numbers;
(7)
A list of any claims or judgments against the applicant, other owners
or management personnel, or employees for damages resulting from the
negligent operation of an ambulance or any other vehicle;
(8)
Proof of a registration from the state department of state health
services to operate as an emergency medical services provider;
(9)
Any other information determined by the director to be necessary
to the implementation and enforcement of this division or to the protection
of the public safety; and
(Ordinance 2918, sec. 6, adopted 8/12/19)
A private ambulance service registration expires one year from the date of issuance. A registrant shall apply for a renewal at least thirty (30) days before the expiration of the registration. The city council may change the registration and/or renewal by resolution. There is a nonrefundable renewal application processing fee in the amount provided in the fee schedule in appendix A of this code.
(Ordinance 2918, sec. 7, adopted 8/12/19)
(a)
A
registered agency shall procure and keep in full force and effect
automobile liability insurance, professional liability insurance,
and commercial general liability insurance written by an insurance
company approved by the state and acceptable to the city and issued
in the standard form approved by the state department of insurance.
All provisions of the policies must be acceptable to the city. The
insured provisions of each policy must name the city and its officers
and employees as additional insureds, and the coverage provisions
must provide coverage for any loss or damage that may arise to any
person or property by reason of the operation of a private ambulance
service by the registrant.
(b)
Each
registrant shall provide documentation meeting the following minimum
requirements:
(1)
Automobile liability: Coverage for claims for damages resulting from
an automobile accident resulting in property damage and/or personal
injury or death in an amount of not less than one million dollars
($1,000,000) per occurrence combined single limit. Such coverage is
to include uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in an amount of
not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) per occurrence;
(2)
Professional liability: Coverage for claims for damages resulting
from professional malpractice liability in an amount of not less than
one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) per occurrence and one million
dollars ($1,000,000.00) annual aggregate. If coverage is provided
on a “claims made” basis, extended period or “tail”
coverage shall be provided for a minimum of four years after the expiration
date of the period the ambulance provider is authorized to operate
in the city; and
(3)
Commercial general liability: Coverage for claims for damages because
of bodily injury, sickness or disease or death of any person other
than ambulance service provider's employees, claims insured by usual
bodily injury liability coverages, and claims for damages because
of injuries to or destruction of tangible property, including loss
of use resulting therefrom in an amount of not less than one million
dollars ($1,000,000) per occurrence.
(c)
Insurance
required under this section must include:
(1)
A cancellation provision in which the insurance company is required
to notify the fire department in writing not fewer than 10 days before
canceling, failing to renew, or making a material change to the insurance
policy; and
(2)
A provision to cover all vehicles, whether or not owned by the registrant,
operating under the private ambulance service registration.
(Ordinance 2918, sec. 8, adopted 8/12/19)
(a)
It
shall be unlawful for any person, either as owner, agent or otherwise,
other than a member of the fire department, or any town, county, state
or agency of the United States, or duly appointed representative of
the city, to furnish, operate, conduct, maintain, advertise or otherwise
be engaged in or profess to be engaged in the operation of emergency
ambulance service or special event EMS service, upon the streets,
alleys or any public way or place within the city, for the purpose
of treating and/or transporting patients within the city, except in
the following circumstances:
(1)
A person shall operate an emergency ambulance within the city to
render assistance during a catastrophe or major emergency, whether
an emergency exists, if requested to do so by the fire chief, when
fire department emergency ambulances are determined to be insufficient
in number or inadequate for other reasons.
(2)
A registered agency may operate a private ambulance within the city
as a backup emergency ambulance if requested to do so by the fire
department [when] emergency ambulances are not available.
(3)
A person may operate a private ambulance on an emergency run to a
hospital within the city, if:
(4)
A registered agency may operate a private ambulance on an emergency
run if, upon responding to a direct call for non-emergency private
ambulance service within the city, the registered agency determines
that an emergency exists requiring the sick or injured person to be
transported with all practical speed to a hospital and notifies the
fire department of the emergency run.
(5)
A registered agency may operate a private ambulance on an emergency
run if, while performing the service of maintaining a private ambulance
at a particular location for a special event within the city, the
registered agency determines that an emergency exists requiring a
sick or injured person to be transported with all practical speed
to a hospital and notifies the city fire department of the emergency
run.
(6)
A registered agency may operate a private ambulance on an emergency
run to transport vital organs, including, but not limited to, hearts,
lungs, kidneys, and eyes, to or from a hospital within the city.
(7)
A registered agency may operate a private ambulance, critical care
transport ambulance, or other specialized emergency medical service
vehicle on an emergency run to transport a newborn, pediatric or other
critical care patient from a lower level skill facility to a higher-level
skill facility if:
(b)
The
prohibition in this section does not apply to the operation of an
air ambulance that is regulated and certified by the U.S. Federal
Aviation Administration and that is operating in compliance with state
licensing requirements.
(c)
Any
person who operates a registered private ambulance on an emergency
run under this section shall, if requested in writing by the fire
department, within 10 days of each emergency run, submit to the fire
chief a report describing the circumstances requiring the emergency
run.
(d)
In
the event a patient dies while being transported from one place within
the city to another place within or beyond its limits, the registrant
of such ambulance shall:
(1)
Immediately notify the city fire department of such death, by two-way
radio or public telephone; and
(2)
Within twenty-four hours of the incident, file a written report with
the chief of police upon such forms as he may provide or prescribe,
giving all information therein required and any other relevant information
which the police chief may require.
(Ordinance 2918, sec. 9, adopted 8/12/19)
(a)
Each
private ambulance must be licensed as an emergency medical services
vehicle with the state department of state health services. Each private
ambulance and all private ambulance equipment must comply with all
applicable federal and state motor vehicle safety standards and with
the standards for emergency medical services vehicles set forth in
the Emergency Medical Services Act (chapter 773, Texas Health and
Safety Code), as amended. All safety mechanisms on each vehicle must
be operative and in good repair, including, but not limited to, headlights,
taillights, turn signals, brakes, brake lights, emergency lights,
windshield wipers, wiper blades, handles opening doors and windows,
tires, and spare tires.
(b)
Each
private ambulance, while on an ambulance call, must be accompanied
by at least two ambulance personnel. One of the ambulance personnel
shall serve as the driver while the other remains in attendance on
the sick or injured patient.
(c)
Clean
and sanitary bed linens must be provided on each private ambulance
for each patient carried. Bed linens must be changed as soon as practical
after the discharge of a patient, but before picking up another patient.
(Ordinance 2918, sec. 10, adopted 8/12/19)
It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally or knowingly:
(1)
Intercept
any communication concerning emergency incidents within the city and
divulge or publish the existence, contents, substance, purpose, effect
or meaning of such intercepted communication and no such solicitor,
owner or person, not being entitled thereto, shall receive or assist
in receiving any such message emanating through the radio medium of
the police or fire department for his own benefit or for the benefit
of another solicitor, owner, operator or person in the business of
furnishing ambulance service.
(2)
Unless
on an emergency run, use on a vehicle a siren and/or emergency warning
light(s) without prior authorization by the city fire department.
(3)
Use
a uniform, insignia, badge, title, identification card, or vehicle
marking for the purpose of identification to the public or others
as an authorized provider of emergency medical services without prior
approval from the fire chief.
(4)
Operate
or cause to be operated an ambulance on any street of the city or
provide ambulance standby services at any location within the city
without first having registered in accordance with this division or
unless exempted therefrom by the provisions of this division.
(5)
Operate
a private ambulance or use any equipment in providing private ambulance
service that fails to comply with all minimum safety and equipment
standards required for a basic life support vehicle by the Emergency
Medical Services Act (chapter 773, Texas Health and Safety Code),
as amended, or by any rule or regulation promulgated under that act.
(6)
Sell
or attempt to sell any plan including subscription to provide any
ground ambulance services within the city limits which are not allowed
by this division or any applicable law.
(7)
Request
the services of any ambulance which is not registered in accordance
with the provisions of this division or exempted therefrom by the
provisions of this division.
(8)
Give
false information to induce the dispatch of an ambulance or helicopter
rescue unit.
(9)
Give
false information on an application for private ambulance registration.
(Ordinance 2918, sec. 11, adopted 8/12/19)
The fire chief or his designee may inspect a private ambulance
service operating in the city to determine whether the service complies
with this division, rules and regulations established by this division,
and other applicable law.
(Ordinance 2918, sec. 12, adopted 8/12/19)
Officers of the police department may assist in the enforcement
of this division. A police officer, upon observing a violation of
this division or the rules and regulations established by this division,
may take necessary enforcement action to ensure effective regulation
of private ambulance service.
(Ordinance 2918, sec. 13, adopted 8/12/19)
(a)
Any
person who violates any of the provisions of this division shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and each day the violation continues shall
be a separate offense. Each offense shall be punishable by a fine
not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00).
(b)
Each
day that any violation of this division is committed or permitted
to continue shall constitute a separate offense.
(c)
This
section shall not serve to limit any other remedies available to the
city in law or equity.
(Ordinance 2918, sec. 14, adopted 8/12/19)
No portion of this division shall be construed in a manner inconsistent
with state laws and regulations, including but not limited to chapter
773 of the Texas Health and Safety Code and any other relevant state
and federal law.
(Ordinance 2918, sec. 15, adopted 8/12/19)
