Statewide trauma system gets Senate approval

The state Senate approved a bill Tuesday that gives the Alabama Department of Public Health the go-ahead to plan and activate its statewide trauma system.

Although potentially as much as 12 months from being operational, Sen. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, who was one of the sponsors of the bill, said the system will coordinate with hospitals to provide the most appropriate care to the trauma victim.

"We're looking for the golden hour, those 60 minutes when we're able to save lives," he said. "Ninety percent of trauma victims get the treatment they need at their community hospital. We're talking about those other 5 to 10 percent who may have a depressed skull fracture or a child who needs a pediatric surgeon or someone who needs access to a burn unit."

Before the system can get up and running, an advisory committee will establish regulations, and state hospitals that want to participate must be evaluated.

Once those steps are completed, Parker said the health-care consumer will see little difference in the new system versus the old.

Behind the scenes, however, a new network will be in place to coordinate with the closest hospital that can give the most appropriate care in the fastest time.

Dr. Amorette Miller, director of emergency room services at Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield, said the system will allow for the appropriate designation based on the injuries at the scene of the trauma.

"But, more importantly, it activates the trauma system within the system for the facility that is capable of handling the patient," she said.

Helen Keller and Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital in Florence are the two Shoals hospitals equipped with emergency rooms.

Even when a trauma victim makes it to one of the two facilities within those critical 60 minutes, Miller said things can go downhill from there.

It's at that point, she said, the trauma system will be most valuable, allowing caregivers the chance to activate the system and transport the patient in the quickest amount of time.

Having the coordinated system also will take some of the burden off the Level I and Level II trauma centers in the state, she said.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham is the only Level I trauma center in the state, and Huntsville Hospital is equipped with a Level II facility.

"I can think of numerous cases where air or even ground transport has taken a victim from the scene to an outlying facility and were seen in that ER and released before the family could get there because the injuries are so minor," Miller said.

She is optimistic that the Shoals will be online with the statewide trauma center well within the 12-month window.

"The system is already in the works here, and we'll get it tested and in place," she said.

Michelle Rupe Eubanks can be reached at michelle.eubanks@timesdaily.com or 740-5745.