Pennsylvania § 8112.1 - Scholarships for recruitment, training and retention.

§ 8112.1. Scholarships for recruitment, training and retention.

(a) Utilization.--Except as provided under subsection (d), money transferred under 3 Pa.C.S. § 1113(a)(4) (relating to disposition of certain funds) shall be utilized by the department's Bureau of Emergency Medical Services to:

(1) Issue scholarships to EMS providers who complete EMS training provided by an approved entity under section 8105(b)(6) (relating to duties of department).

(2) Reimburse EMS agencies for recruitment and retention costs, which are to be determined by the department's Bureau of Emergency Medical Services.

(3) Make available a pilot program for high school students with instruction through partnerships between institutions of higher education in this Commonwealth and school entities or nonpublic schools, or both, to increase the number of individuals capable of becoming EMS providers. The pilot program shall be conducted in accordance with section 7 of the act of October 24, 2012 (P.L.1209, No.151), known as the Child Labor Act. The following shall apply:

(i) The Bureau of Emergency Medical Services of the Department of Health shall accept proposals from institutions of higher education in this Commonwealth for the pilot program. From the proposals submitted, the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services of the Department of Health shall select three institutions of higher education to offer a pilot program. The Bureau of Emergency Medical Services of the Department of Health, to the greatest extent practicable, shall select one institution of higher education from each eastern, central and western region of this Commonwealth. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prohibit an institution of higher education from incorporating fire instruction into the pilot program.

(ii) An institution of higher education selected by the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services of the Department of Health under subparagraph (i) shall operate the pilot program by entering into an agreement with a school entity or nonpublic school, or both, for the provision of instruction to students who are in at least the ninth grade.

(iii) The EMS Training Fund is established in the State Treasury. The Bureau of Emergency Medical Services of the Department of Health may accept monetary donations and other money for deposit into the EMS Training Fund from a person, business, foundation, tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Public Law 99-514, 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)) or government entity on behalf of the Commonwealth.

(iv) The Bureau of Emergency Medical Services of the Department of Health shall disburse no less than $50,000 from the EMS Training Fund to each institution of higher education operating the pilot program for each year of the pilot program. After the fourth year of operation of the pilot program, the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services of the Department of Health may not disburse money from the EMS Training Fund.

(v) The State Treasurer shall transfer any money appropriated, transferred or donated for the pilot program into the EMS Training Fund, and interest earned on the money in the EMS Training Fund shall remain in the EMS Training Fund.

(b) Application.--An individual shall submit an application for a scholarship to the department on a form approved by the department.

(c) Form.--The scholarships shall be in the form of:

(1) Reimbursement to EMS providers who obtain certification upon successful completion of EMS training by an approved provider.

(2) Reimbursement to an EMS agency for recruitment and retention costs, which are to be determined by the department's Bureau of Emergency Medical Services.

(d) Administrative costs.--No more than $50,000 of the money transferred under 3 Pa.C.S. § 1113(a)(4) may be used by the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services for administrative costs.

(e) Annual reports.--

(1) The Bureau of Emergency Medical Services of the Department of Health shall prepare an annual report on the scholarships under subsection (a)(1) and the pilot program under subsection (a)(3). The report shall include all of the following information:

(i) The total number of scholarship applications received.

(ii) The total number of scholarship applications approved and the amounts funded for each recipient.

(iii) An analysis of the classes taken and the levels of education obtained through the scholarships.

(iv) The number of applications received for the pilot program.

(v) The applications approved for the pilot program.

(vi) The number of high school students served by the pilot program.

(2) The Bureau of Emergency Medical Services of the Department of Health shall submit the annual report under paragraph (1) no later than October 1, 2023, and by October 1 of each year thereafter, to all of the following:

(i) The chair and minority chair of the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of the Senate.

(ii) The chair and minority chair of the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of the House of Representatives.

(3) The Secretary of Health shall post the annual report under paragraph (1) on the department's publicly accessible Internet website.

(Nov. 3, 2022, P.L.1674, No.104, eff. imd.)

2012 Amendment. Act 104 added section 8112.1.