Trauma System bill lingers

By JOHN HULTGREN
Kentucky EMS Connection

FRANKFORT — With only nine days left on the Kentucky legislative calendar, a bill to establish and fund a state-wide trauma system may be on life-support.

Kentucky, which is one of 11 states that does not have a trauma system, has been trying since 2001 to establish one. State Representative Steve Nunn introduced Kentucky House Bill 724 last month in another attempt to create one.

• Read House Bill 724

According to Dr. Mary Fallat, chief of surgery for Kosair Childrens Hospital and a Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services board member who organized the Kentucky Trauma Stakeholders Conference held March 7 - 8 in Frankfort, a trauma system is defined as "an organized effort in a defined geographic area that delivers the full range of services to all injured patients and is integrated with the public health system for injury prevention."

Dr. Fallat says that trauma systems benefit patients by increasing survival of the critically injured and decreasing morbidity from trauma and its secondary effects, particularly on the family.

Dr. Fallat said that in Kentucky, unintentional injury is the leading cause of death for all Kentuckians aged 1 - 34 years, with motor vehicle crashes (57%), falls (14%) and homicides (9%) the three leading causes of deaths and disability.

Dr. Fallat pointed out that Kentucky is primarily a rural state and noted that the death rate from unintentional injury is more than 50% higher in rural areas than in urban ones. And, in a USA Today article published in 2000, Kentucky leads the nation with the worst teenage automobile fatality rates.

So why is it so difficult to create a state-wide trauma system? According to Dr. Eric Bentley, who also spoke at the conference, state legislators aren't interested in a trauma system bill because their constituents aren't asking for one.

Richard Bartlett, who is the emergency preparedness and trauma coordinator for the Kentucky Hospital Association, doesn't believe anyone is really against a state-wide trauma system. He thinks people just don't realize that they don't already have one.

Bartlett points to a Harris Interactive Poll, commissioned by the Coalition for American Trauma Care, that says most people believe their state already has a trauma system in place when they actually don't.

Bartlett said the poll shows that:

• 92% of the population believes that a quality medical care system is already in place in their state;

• 35% believe that their closest hospital is already a trauma center (Kentucky has three);

• 60% would be concerned to learn that they don't have a trauma system (Kentucky doesn't);

• 80% would be willing to pay for a trauma system; and

• 89% feel that having a trauma system in place is more important than having state police, haz-mat teams, or libraries.

So Bartlett feels that the public really wants a state-wide trauma system but isn't asking their representatives for one because they are unaware that a system doesn't already exists.

And Dr. Fallat points out that, since Kentucky citizens have shown that they don't want trauma prevention efforts -- such as laws requiring seat belts, child safety seats, or helmets -- there is even more need for a trauma system.

Melinda Baker, a state affairs associate for the American College of Surgeons, is making their Internet site available so that you can easily contact your elected Kentucky representatives about the trauma systems bill.

You can try out their Internet site at:
http://capwiz.com/sslac/issues/alert/?alertid=8568866

The site inserts pre-written text that you can either send, edit, or replace, and will automatically send your message to your elected representatives based on your address.

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