ATLANTA- (Feb. 3, 2010) – The Georgia State Senate today unanimously passed Sen. Preston Smith’s (R-Rome) bill to allow licensed, out-of-state emergency personnel to assist the state in the event of a disaster. The Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act (Senate Bill 315) will make it easier for health professionals to quickly respond should a disaster or emergency arise in Georgia.
Sen. Smith delivered an impassioned speech before his colleagues on the Senate Floor, pointing to the mass causalities in Haiti and the destruction following Hurricane Katrina as the need for a rapid and systematic emergency response. “In Haiti, health personnel had to take extraordinary measures, even using vodka to sterilize medical tools and performing amputations without anesthesia. There’s no reason to allow a disaster to succumb to that level if we have the resources to protect our citizens,” said Smith. “This bill will allow the state to utilize the assistance of our neighboring health practitioners and ensures Georgians will receive rapid medical attention.”
If the governor declares a state of emergency, volunteer practitioners will be allowed to enter the state with a temporary license. The bill aims to expedite the process for issuing these temporary licenses, which will only be given to those who are in good standing under the laws of their home state. Volunteers can register in advance of or during an emergency with a qualified registration system. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) will oversee the registration system and will coordinate with other emergency response organizations to dispatch volunteers where assistance is needed.
Similar legislation has been passed in 10 other states. This creates greater uniformity among the states to provide for better cooperation and assistance in emergencies. Three other states besides Georgia have introduced a similar bill this year. Model legislation was first drafted in response to the crisis that occurred as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. In these instances, volunteers were sometimes delayed or entirely prevented from providing assistance as they waited to obtain authorization. While all 50 states uniformly recognize licenses for those who respond to emergencies, this is not an effective system to handle the high number of licenses needed to deliver assistance in a statewide emergency. Sen. Smith’s legislation implements an effective system to handle and carry out additional medical attention in the event of a disaster.
For more information on the Georgia State Senate or to view the volunteer emergency assistance bill, please visit www.senate.ga.gov.
Sen. Preston Smith serves as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He represents the 52nd Senate District which includes Floyd County and portions of Bartow and Gordon counties. He may be reached by phone at 404.656.0034 or by e-mail at preston.smith@senate.ga.gov.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
February 3, 2010
For Information Contact:
Raegan Weber, Director
Kallarin Richards, Senior Communications Specialist
kallarin.richards@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028