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New 2019 Texas EMS Legislation Requires Spare Batteries, Extra Power Source

The new Texas Administrative Code for the Department of State Health Services went into effect on March 10, 2019. Requirements and protocols for all state licensed paramedics and emergency care vehicles were updated and several new rules that had been proposed have now passed.

The rules under Title 25, Part 1, Chapter 157, Subchapter B outline in detail which vehicles will be authorized to operate as emergency care vehicles and at which level of service. Minimum staffing requirements, the equipment that shall be present on each vehicle to administer both Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Basic Life Support (BLS), along with programs to manage provider performance and compliance have also been listed.

One of the new proposals now in place is requiring all emergency medical care vehicles and “all critical patient care battery powered equipment shall have spare batteries”. It also noted that “equipment shall have manual mechanical, spare batteries or an alternative power source”. This legislation will provide a safeguard and ensure that any vehicles rendered inoperable from loss of power, for any reason, will have a back-up means of administering life-saving support to a patient.

You can access the full document of the Texas Administrative Code Requirements, Title 25, Part 1, Chapter 157, here at Sos Texas and Assurans

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Blog By Blaire CzarnieckiWritten by Blaire Czarniecki
Customer Service Director

Fact checked by Phillip Woods, BA, NREMT-P, FP-C

Blaire attended the University of Tennessee where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology- Child and Family Studies. She has been in the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) industry for over eight years and is the Director of Customer Service for Coro Medical. Blaire is also an American Red Cross-certified CPR/AED/First Aid Instructor, highly trained by each manufacturer on their specific AEDs, and knowledgeable regarding ALL State AED regulations and legislation.

“I know that every day I come to work, I am playing a part in saving someone’s life. I am passionate about these devices and am always looking for new and innovative ways to spread awareness and knowledge about Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). I look forward to the day when everywhere I go, I will see an AED—when SCA will no longer take any lives.”

Last updated April 4, 2019