(a) The emergency medical services board shall promulgate rules and regulations to provide optimal emergency medical services for pediatric patients served by the personnel and facilities it licenses and shall have the authority, when funding is available, to obtain assistance with development and implementation of its standards and to support delivery of educational services and equipment to the providers of emergency pediatric medical services it licenses. In developing, updating and implementing the rules and regulations and providing services and equipment, the board shall be guided by national standards and shall collaborate with the health care facilities division and health care facilities board and the committee on pediatric emergency care created pursuant to § 68-11-251.

(b) It is the intent of this section that the entire spectrum of emergency pediatric medical and critical care services, including primary prevention of illness and injury, a statewide pediatric trauma system, disaster planning and management, acute care, data analysis, evaluation of potential standards of care, and rehabilitation be incorporated into the rules and into any services and equipment provided or required to be furnished pursuant to this section or any grant or contract awarded under this section.

(c) The rules authorized by this section shall require adequate emergency medical care for children relative to the following and shall take into account the size and location of facilities and shall require appropriate triage, stabilization and referral of patients:

(1) Facility equipment standards;

(2) Qualifications of facility personnel; and

(3) Continuing professional education of facility personnel.

(d) To assist in the implementation of the purposes of this section, the department shall have the authority to solicit and receive grants, donations, public and private funding. The funding may be used for grants or contracts with 501(c)(3) organizations, as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3), that are capable of providing the advice, services and equipment necessary to assist in the provision of state-of-the-art emergency medical and critical care for ill or injured pediatric patients.

(e) On or before July 1 of every year, the board for licensing health care facilities and the emergency medical services board, in collaboration with the committee on pediatric emergency care, shall jointly prepare a report on the current status of emergency medical services for children and on continuing efforts to improve such services. The joint report shall be submitted to the health and welfare committee of the senate and to the health committee of the house of representatives.