Oppose Language to Undermine Floridas Trauma Care System

Last-minute changes made to Senate Bill 966 and House Bill 817 would:

Undermine the approval process for new trauma centers in Florida; and Strip quality of care and safety standards for Floridas trauma patients.

Floridas trauma system is already one of the best in the world, with trauma centers strategically located across the state to provide maximally-efficient, high quality trauma care to all Floridians.

The more patients trauma surgeons take care of, the better they do in terms of treatment. But with too many trauma centers, you dilute that effect.
Ellen Mackenzie, chair of Health Policy at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Trauma centers springing up as profits rise. September 24, 2012. USA Today.

Too many trauma centers result in bad outcomes for patients. By approving language amended to SB 966 and HB 817, the Florida Legislature would:

Reduce the economic viability of all trauma centers, as well as pose a grave threat to Cause higher-level trauma centers and hospitals to compete for specially-trained Prevent
trauma surgeons and specialists; existing, verified trauma centers from operating in a financially selfsufficient manner by diverting patients to one of too many, unnecessary trauma centers and preventing any of them to recover their costs. patient safety by compromising trauma skills;

Contact your lawmaker today to urge them to reject this bad public policy! To find and contact your local State Senator, click here. To find and contact your local State Representative, click here.

Placing appropriate limits on the number of trauma centers may produce higher volumes of severely injured patients per center, enhance the experience of providers, and improve the overall quality of trauma care.
-Branas, C., MacKenzie, E., Williams, J., Schwab, W., Teter, H., Flanigan, , Revelle, C. (2005). Access to Trauma Centers in the United States. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 239, 2626-2633.

For Immediate Release Thursday, April 25, 2013 Contact: Celina Parker, celina@bascomllc.com, 850.443.9965 Lyndsey Cruley, lyndsey@bascomllc.com, 850.524.5006

Trauma Care Experts Warn of Dangers of Approving Last-Minute Changes to Floridas Trauma Care Network
Last-minute Amendments to Senate Bill 966 & House Bill 817 Would Dilute Quality of Trauma Care for Patients Tallahassee, Fla. Trauma care experts, practitioners and advocates across the state today urged members of the Florida Legislature to defeat last-minute amendments made to Senate Bill 966 and House Bill 817 that would overhaul the approval process for new trauma centers in Florida and remove quality and safety standards for care provided to patients who have suffered traumatic, life-threatening injuries. Senate Bill 966 is available to be heard on the Senate floor and House Bill 817 is scheduled to be heard on second reading on the House floor today. These amendments would completely deregulate Level II trauma centers, opening the door to a proliferation of new centers that will harm the states existing trauma care network, said Dr. Karanbir Gill, chairman of the Florida Committee of Trauma and trauma medical director at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Fla. Allowing an influx of new trauma centers will threaten the existence of Floridas Level I and pediatric trauma centers which train the next generation of trauma surgeons and perform critical research to improve trauma care. Such a move would dilute the quality of trauma care statewide and, ultimately, harm Floridians. The American College of Surgeons (ACS) recommends having one or two high-level trauma centers for every 1 million people, which is a standard that is met in Florida. Further, studies show that trauma centers and surgeons who treat a large number of seriously injured patients have better outcomes and that the concentration of too many, unnecessary centers in one area greatly compromises the quality of trauma care provided. The criteria to be met in the State of Florida for trauma centers is much more stringent than those put in place by the ACS, said Dr. Glenn Summers, trauma medical director at the Bay Medical Center, Sacred Heart Health System in Panama City, Fla. We dont want this process to go away because when it comes to trauma care and saving lives, we need the most stringent criteria to ensure that patient safety and quality of care is never compromised. I personally cross

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COALITION TO PRESERVE QUALITY TRAUMA CARE PAGE 2 county lines on a regular basis to train trauma surgeons and continue to build a trauma care network that people in the Florida Panhandle can rely on. Being a trauma provider does not mean we stay inside the walls of our center we share our information and expertise. You cant allow for these proposed changes to dilute this system down to the point that people arent getting sufficient volumes to preserve our network. These changes that are being pushed during the last two weeks of the Legislative Session would essentially undo years of methodical, expertly-developed planning for our statewide trauma care network, said Dr. Ivan Puente, medical director of trauma services at Delray Medical Center in Delray Beach, Fla. The way these proposed changes have come about is highly-irresponsible and would place the lives of trauma patients at unprecedented risk. An overabundance of trauma centers in one area causes higher-level trauma centers and hospitals to compete for specially-trained trauma surgeons and specialists. This proliferation of trauma centers also prevents existing, verified trauma centers from operating in a financially selfsufficient manner by diverting patients to one of too many, unnecessary trauma centers and preventing any of them from recovering costs. The proposed changes would essentially eliminate the Department of Healths (DOH) role in assessing the need and strategic location for new trauma centers in Florida, and would supplant it with requiring new trauma centers to meet criteria established by the ACS. The DOH is currently working on developing new statewide criteria for trauma center planning by conducting a series of public hearings and requesting expert recommendations from the ACS. The results of the year-long study are scheduled to come out in May 2013, just days following the close of the 2013 Legislative Session. The changes that are being rushed through the process would essentially eliminate DOHs role in determining if, and where, there is a need for new trauma centers across the state, said Dr. Robert Borrego, medical director of trauma services at St. Marys Medical Center in West Palm Beach. It is unreasonable for the legislature to rush such impactful changes through the process, especially when a full report and expertly-vetted recommendations are just weeks from being released. It is bad public policy to accept changes that would potentially put the lives of Floridians at risk without taking into consideration a years worth of research and public input. ###