The Akron Legal News

Proposal designed to improve trauma care

TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: December 8, 2015

The sponsors of House Bill 261 have said the proposal was crafted with a simple purpose in mind: Lowering the state’s rate of trauma deaths.

“While I believe Ohio’s current trauma system has a solid foundation, the increasing age-adjusted mortality rate for injury our state has seen in recent years tells us that Ohio has one of the worst outcomes in the nation,” said Rep. Cheryl Grossman.

“We can and need to do better.”

Grossman, R-Grove City, said HB 261 would allow Ohio’s disconnected trauma centers to become a true trauma system.

The bill would spur the creation of the Ohio Trauma Board. State administration would appoint 19 board members.

“The goal of the board, and therefore the goal of the bill, is to help unify all aspects of Ohio’s trauma system, ranging from education and prevention to ensuring quality and timely treatment,” Grossman said, adding that nearly 60 interested parties have been meeting over the last three years in efforts to improve the system.

“There are several great medical minds working on this legislation, including my joint-sponsor, Dr. Steve Huffman.”

Huffman, R-Tipp City, has trauma center and emergency room experience.

Under current law, a hospital must adopt protocols for the provision of any trauma care by the hospital that is inconsistent with that hospital’s level as a trauma center.

Therefore, each facility that is not a trauma center must adopt protocols for the provision of any type of trauma care, each adult trauma center must adopt protocols for the provision of pediatric trauma care and each pediatric trauma center must adopt protocols for the provision of adult trauma care.

Such requirements would continue under HB 261 but the definition of “hospital” would be modified to include an emergency department that is operated as an independent facility, which would apply the trauma care protocol requirement to all emergency departments.

“In many cases, a person’s chance of surviving a traumatic experience is directly related to how quickly that individual can be transported to a trauma center,” Grossman said.

“This includes simply making sure a patient is taken to the nearest possible center so that proper treatment can be administered as soon as possible.”

As detailed in the bill, Huffman said the 19-member board would be permitted to meet by teleconference, enter into contracts and create committees that include non-board members.

In addition to establishing the board, he said key concepts of HB 261 include creating a leadership structure for the trauma system and carving out a personnel structure to manage the trauma system on a daily basis.

He said the bill promotes the idea of systems of care rather than individual parts of the system working separately.

Dr. Bob Falcone, a Columbus-based trauma surgeon and surgical intensivist, has endorsed the proposed legislation.

“HB 261 is based on years of work by trauma leaders in Ohio and nationwide to increase collaboration and foster a more inclusive trauma system,” he said, noting that the push for the bill grew out of the 2012 merger of the State Board of Emergency Medical Services and the Ohio Medical Transportation Board.

“As discussions on board composition and structure carried on, it became clear that Ohio’s trauma system needed a dedicated and autonomous board.”

Since enactment of Ohio’s first trauma system legislation in 2000, Falcone said there has not been a decline in the state’s trauma mortality rate.

He said the structure and composition of the trauma board would ensure that urban and rural providers are represented and would guarantee that trauma and non-trauma centers and EMS providers each have a voice.

Twenty-five states currently have a trauma board or similar structure and more than 40 states have an administrative office serving as a lead trauma agency with the ability to designate trauma centers and establish a trauma registry.

“While trauma systems vary greatly between states, state-level oversight and coordination is becoming more and more commonplace,” Falcone said.

Another trauma surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Claridge, also urged lawmakers to support the bill.

Claridge, who serves as the director of trauma at MetroHealth Medical Center, said MetroHealth’s trauma center is one of the busiest in the nation.

“Needless to say, we are there when you need us most and have often served in that role since our inception. That is why we feel the creation of a state trauma system as outlined in HB 261 is critical for what we do,” he said.

“Ultimately, we believe it is what is best for Ohioans from a public health standpoint.”

If the measure is signed into law, each facility seeking a trauma center designation must submit an application and fee to the board in accordance with procedures established by the board.

Fees could not exceed $10,000 for designation as a level I adult or pediatric trauma center, $5,000 for designation as a level II adult or pediatric trauma center or $3,000 for designation as a level III adult trauma center.

The bill requires the fees to be used solely for the administration and enforcement of the statutes and rules governing trauma centers.

“HB 261 is an important part of moving Ohio in a direction of becoming healthier and safer for its residents,” Grossman said.

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