(a) Purpose.--A special operations EMS service provides EMS in situations or austere environments that require specialized knowledge, equipment or vehicles to access a patient or address the patient's emergency medical needs. The department shall by regulation provide for specific types of special operations EMS teams.

(b) Personnel requirements.--By regulation, the department may establish additional training or expertise requirements for the EMS agency medical director and the EMS providers who staff a special operations EMS service.

(c) Other requirements.--By regulation, the department may establish staffing, equipment, supply and any other requirement for a special operations EMS service.

(d) Extraordinary applications.--An entity may propose to provide a special operations EMS need that has not been addressed by applying to the department for an EMS agency license to carry out the special operations EMS or, if it is licensed as an EMS agency, the entity may apply to the department to be authorized to provide the special operations EMS under its license. The department shall address each application on an individual basis and may conditionally deny or grant an application as appropriate to protect the public health and safety. The grant of an application shall be subject to compliance with any later-adopted regulations addressing the type of special operations EMS being provided by the entity.

(e) Protocols.--The department may include in its Statewide EMS protocols special operations EMS protocols.

Effective Date. Section 9(1) of Act 37 of 2009 provided that section 8136 shall take effect 180 days after the publication of the notice in section 7. The notice was published October 12, 2013, at 43 Pa.B. 6093.