An increase from one to two emergency medical technicians will be required for staffing basic life support ambulances, except in rural Minnesota, under a new law signed April 24 by Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
Sponsored by Rep. Dave Olin (DFL-Thief River Falls) and Sen. Tony Lourey (DFL-Kerrick), the law allows for one EMT and one first responder in emergency situations in rural Minnesota. Those areas include primary service areas outside the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area, those outside the cities of Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester and St. Cloud, or an ambulance based in a community with a population of less than 1,000 persons.
“This covers the examples in rural Minnesota where it is not practical to have two paramedics,” Olin said.
An ambulance service that can provide evidence of hardship for the requirement of two EMTs can apply to the Minnesota Emergency Medical Services Board for a variance.
The law takes effect Aug. 1, 2008.
HF2591/SF2377*/CH222
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