§ 254c-15. Rural emergency medical service training and equipment assistance program
(a)
Grants
The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”) shall award grants to eligible entities to enable such entities to provide for improved emergency medical services in rural areas.
(b)
Eligibility
To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an entity shall—
(c)
Use of funds
An entity shall use amounts received under a grant made under subsection (a) of this section, either directly or through grants to emergency medical service squads that are located in, or that serve residents of, a nonmetropolitan statistical area, an area designated as a rural area by any law or regulation of a State, or a rural census tract of a metropolitan statistical area (as determined under the most recent Goldsmith Modification, originally published in a notice of availability of funds in the Federal Register on February 27, 1992, 57 Fed. Reg. 6725), to—
(3)
train emergency medical service personnel in emergency response, injury prevention, safety awareness, and other topics relevant to the delivery of emergency medical services;
(5)
develop new ways to educate emergency health care providers through the use of technology-enhanced educational methods (such as distance learning);
(d)
Preference
In awarding grants under this section the Secretary shall give preference to—
(e)
Matching requirement
The Secretary may not award a grant under this section to an entity unless the entity agrees that the entity will make available (directly or through contributions from other public or private entities) non-Federal contributions toward the activities to be carried out under the grant in an amount equal to 25 percent of the amount received under the grant.
(f)
Emergency medical services
In this section, the term “emergency medical services”—
(1)
means resources used by a qualified public or private nonprofit entity, or by any other entity recognized as qualified by the State involved, to deliver medical care outside of a medical facility under emergency conditions that occur—
(2)
includes services delivered by an emergency medical services provider (either compensated or volunteer) or other provider recognized by the State involved that is licensed or certified by the State as an emergency medical technician or its equivalent (as determined by the State), a registered nurse, a physician assistant, or a physician that provides services similar to services provided by such an emergency medical services provider.
(g)
Authorization of appropriations