A hot-off-the-press report from Southeast Trauma Care Region, under the management of AAA Ambulance Service, documents the five-year development of a regional trauma program in southeast Mississippi and reviews some of the major program accomplishments.
Trauma Care In Southeast Mississippi also challenges advocates “for a healthy Mississippi to press for the progressive development of this vital medical program through appropriate authority and additional funding in the future,” said Wade N. Spruill, Jr., chief executive officer.
“Summarily, our State’s trauma system has already resulted in saving Mississippians’ lives and reduced the severity of those injured through traumatic events,” Spruill said. “The Southeast Trauma Care Region Board of Directors and staff here in Hattiesburg present our findings from analysis of our Trauma Registry with a sense of urgency and renewed, proven belief in the value of the statewide trauma system.”
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The State of Mississippi claims a developing statewide system of caring
for people who sustain severe traumatic injuries. Severe trauma refers
to a major injury to one or more body systems and requires immediate medical, and often surgical, care to prevent permanent disability or death.
Spruill reminded, “Trauma leads causes of death among people from age 1 through 44 years. Trauma occurs without discrimination; this societal disease affects everyone — young, old, rich, poor, healthy, frail.”
With legal authority established in 1998, Mississippi designed a regional approach to developing the statewide trauma system.
The Trauma Care Law gave Mississippi its first stable chance to improve those problems associated with severely injured people. Within a year, regions initiated active trauma programs designed to develop better methods for response and care of all traumatic injury victims.
The Trauma Care Law gave Mississippi its first stable chance to improve those problems associated with severely injured people. Within a year, regions initiated active trauma programs designed to develop better methods for response and care of all traumatic injury victims.
Southeast Trauma Care Region (SETCR) in 1999 became the first region
officially designated by the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH).
The Department designated six more regions later that year.
“Unusual for most trauma systems,” recalled Spruill, who at the time was director of EMS with MSDH and primary designer with the Legislature of the system, “Mississippi established a special financial mechanism to assist trauma system development. A permanent funding source came via a $5 assessment on all moving traffic violations, creating the Trauma Care Trust Fund (TCTF); a portion of the Tobacco Settlement supplements the TCTF to nearly $8 million annually. The fund provides limited assistance for hospital- and physician-uncompensated trauma care.
“Real-life operations throughout the Southeast Trauma Care Region reveal facts that replace long-believed myths,” he said. “Two examples that deal with insurance coverage and access to care actually contradict the un-truths:
• Eighty-two percent of all trauma patients do have health insurance; indigent people comprise the minority among trauma victims.
• People now come to the hospital for emergency trauma care because they know the system, including triaged transportation, is available; without the system, many would have no way to get the care they need.
Spruill said that information the SETCR captures on trauma patients through its regional trauma registry (database) provides rich information that enables better decisions about system improvements, injury prevention, and research.
“But the future of the statewide trauma system appears to be fragile,” Spruill warned, “and requires new strength through renewed commitment at all participants' levels: local, regional, and state.
“Failure or collapse of the system for any reason would result negatively on everyone,” he predicted. “Without a trauma care system, no one can be guaranteed the care they require for traumatic injury.
“With this stern challenge in view, the SETCR elects to lead in trauma systems development in Mississippi,” he affirmed. “Challenges in five major areas demand action for the future: authority and responsibility, commitment, funding, surveillance-based action, and leadership.
“Public policy groups have received little information about the progress made toward the developing statewide trauma system,” Spruill said. “SETCR will aggressively share information with regional public bodies and political leaders while cooperatively working with the state lead agency to assure strong support statewide. The statewide system, however, will function optimally only when all regions and the lead agency work cooperatively to benefit the people of the State of Mississippi.”
The SETCR executive regrets that no coordinated public information effort communicates the positive developments and changing challenges beyond the industry — that is, beyond the organizations and individuals professionally involved with the trauma care system development.
“The lead agency — Mississippi State Department of Health — and trauma regions generally have failed to communicate with public policy groups about the progress made and needs emerging toward fully developing the statewide trauma care system,” he added. “Public health is information, and if elected officials and individual citizens do not have access to information, we risk losing one of our State’s most valuable resources: the trauma system.”
Spruill said State officials must renew their commitment to the system, increase the amount of funding to cover increasing need, and continue to collect information through the trauma registry for making decisions based on facts.
“Finally,” he said, “SETCR will press for leadership — for people throughout Mississippi to recognize and address the scope of the problem of access to quality emergency medical health services in rural areas.”
About AAA Ambulance Service: AAA Ambulance Service, founded in 1965, created one of the first licensed emergency medical services providers in Mississippi. The community, tax-supported nonprofit organization’s mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce trauma-related personal anguish and health care costs. For more information, visit http://www.aaaambulance.net.
Contact: Christy M. Joy
PO Box 17889
Hattiesburg, MS 39404
207 South. 28th Ave.
Hattiesburg, MS 39401
(601) 264-0175 SND.Email
