NJ Spotlight published the following article on January 8, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
FRAGMENTED TRAUMA-RESPONSE SYSTEM PROMPTS BILL TO BOOST COORDINATION
ANDREW KITCHENMAN | JANUARY 8, 2014
More than five years after critical report, Legislature looks to take action to improve quality and efficiency of high-level emergency services.
New Jersey residents are dying unnecessarily due to a fragmented trauma system that fails to provide some patients with the appropriate level of care, according to supporters of a bill that would seek to fix this by establishing a formal state trauma system.
The measure, S-3027/A-4500, would institute a system to increase coordination among hospitals and emergency personnel. It would also create a committee that would recommend additional changes to state health and emergency management officials.
This could head off some problems, such as for-profit ambulance squads taking patients to an inappropriate hospital due to financial incentives, according to a bill sponsor.
The seeds for the legislation were planted in August 2008, when the American College of Surgeons issued a series of criticisms of how the state handles trauma cases in a report that was ordered by the state Department of Health.