KHI NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 16
A U.S. Senate committee has endorsed a bill co-authored by U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., to strengthen statewide trauma care systems.
The bill, which Roberts said Friday had been approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, reauthorizes a program established in 1990 that provides funding to states to improve their trauma systems. Among other things, the federal funding
$31.4 million since the inception of the program
is used by states to improve the collection and analysis of patient data.
The measure co-authored by Roberts and Sen. Jack Reed, D-RI, also authorizes an Institute of Medicine study of the state of trauma care and trauma research.
“Trauma care is especially critical in rural areas where the death rate from unintentional injury is more than 50 percent higher than in urban areas,” Roberts said in a prepared statement. “Saving the life of any trauma victim requires constant attention to maintaining and coordinating organized systems of trauma care in every community in every state.”
Trauma is the leading cause of death for Kansans under age 44. Approximately 50 percent of Kansas trauma deaths result from vehicle crashes.
Currently, there are only five certified trauma centers in Kansas and much of the rural part of the state is not adequately served, according to The Driving Force, a task force established by the Kansas Department of Transportation, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Highway Patrol to recommend policies for reducing traffic deaths and injuries.
The task force”s recommendations include establishing certified trauma facilities in each of the state”s six healthcare regions and requiring hospitals to provide emergency workers with trauma care and traffic safety education.
The Roberts-Reed bill now goes to the full Senate for debate and a vote.