§ 62-2. Private providers of emergent medical services.

(a)

No private provider may transport any patient in need of emergency care when the request for service or assistance is made through the emergency 911 system unless specifically authorized by New Orleans EMS or as a rollover emergency transport or under professional medical contract or through request of a member of the public for a nonscheduled emergency without subsequent notification of New Orleans EMS, excluding standby detail services with advanced life support (ALS) care on scene. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, private providers providing emergency transport must do so in accordance with Region One Protocol Effort (ROPE) protocols.

(b)

No owner or operator of an ambulance may respond to any emergency in any ambulance not certified at the advanced life support level and capable of providing advanced life support care.

(c)

By making application for a permit hereunder and by providing ambulance service in the City of New Orleans, each ambulance owner and operator agrees to provide, based on availability of resources and equipment not previously committed to emergency evacuation response and when safely equipped and able to do so, such ambulance services as may be requested by New Orleans EMS in the event of mass casualties or catastrophic event.

(d)

No ambulance shall respond or provide transportation in emergency circumstances unless they meet the qualifications as set forth in this article.

(e)

No ambulance service shall operate at the advanced life support level unless they meet the qualifications as set forth in this article, specifically having at a minimum an EMT-Paramedic in the ambulance.

(f)

No private ambulance provider shall use any form of mass media to advertise any telephone number other than 911 for medical emergencies in the City of New Orleans. Any advertisements for non-emergency care must include notations that 911 is to be called for emergencies. Exceptions include telephone numbers for the ambulance provider on an ambulance or vehicle, and emergency numbers used in hospitals, universities, industrial centers or other facilities where an internal emergency number exists to access emergency services dispatchers or public safety officials.

(g)

No private ambulance provider shall advertise or hold themselves out as a prehospital emergency medical services provider in the City of New Orleans, except as approved and permitted in this article.

(M.C.S., Ord. No. 25023, § 1, 9-20-12)