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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 18, 2013 03:29 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Lisa Baker |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioner Registry |
| Please join me in co-sponsoring legislation to help Pennsylvania provide immediate emergency health care to victims of a declared disaster by creating a Volunteer Health Practitioner Registry System. Since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, many states have enacted similar legislation, to allow licensed physicians, veterinarians, mental health practitioners, and funeral directors to enter states that have suffered a declared disaster and provide services without having to seek a license. This registry greatly increases victim’s access to care during a critical time, when licensure boards may be overwhelmed with requests or non-functioning as a result of the disaster. The Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act (UEVHPA) was developed in response to the significant legal and licensing barriers that volunteer physicians and health care practitioners encountered after traveling to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to help Katrina victims. Under the bill’s proposed registry system, the Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) would be able to regulate the length of time and the geographic area in which volunteer emergency health practitioners can serve. These volunteers, acting in good faith, would be afforded liability protection and workers compensation coverage as provided for in Title 35 (Health and Safety). To ensure quality care, the health practitioners would have to be licensed and in good standing. This language was developed by the Uniform Law Commission and has been adopted in 14 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To qualify for license recognition, professionals must be registered with a system operated by a state agency, non-governmental disaster relief agency, or a national or regional association of health care professionals which certifies that the professionals are licensed and in good standing with their home states and must comply with any restrictions or limitations imposed by PEMA, the Department of Health or the local agencies through which they provide services. The Uniform Act has been endorsed by numerous health, legal and emergency response organizations, including the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the American Bar Association, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the American Public Health Association, the American Nurses Association, the American Red Cross, the ASPCA, the Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, the National Association of State EMS Officials, the National Funeral Directors Association, the Pennsylvania Public Health Association, and United Way of America. Thank you for your consideration of this important public safety measure. |
Introduced as SB1235