Communications

(July 11, 2025) – On July 1, House Bill 2039 took effect following the 2025 legislative session. Sections 8(c) and (d) contain provisions that allow emergency medical service agencies in counties with a population of 30,000 or fewer to operate a ground ambulance with only one person certified or authorized to provide clinical care. The driver is required to be certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Some hospitals had a desire for this change to be implemented to improve the transfer of patients between facilities. Ultimately, the legislation also allows this staffing for emergency services. The Board of EMS must be notified within 30 days if your local EMS agency is adopting this staffing policy.

Also effective in House Bill 2039 is the requirement for all publicly available automated external defibrillators to be registered with the Board of Emergency Medical Services. Section 10 (4)(b) provides guidance. Go to the Kansas BEMS website and select the AED Placement Notification link. It should only take a few minutes to complete. According to BEMS, from 2020-2023, AEDs were used in only approximately 20 percent of witnessed cardiac arrests. The primary reason for the lack of use was the unknown location of an accessible AED. Work with others in your community so all available AEDs are known to 911 dispatchers, who in turn can direct potential life-saving efforts.
--Larry Van Der Wege