Access to trauma center care: A statewide system-based approach

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Timely access to specialized trauma care is critical for improving patient outcomes after severe injury.
• Preventable mortality can be reduced by ensuring access to trauma teams at Level I and II trauma centers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate timely access to specialized trauma care using system-based models.
• To identify optimal locations for new trauma centers to maximize access.

Main Methods:

• Developed trauma system models incorporating ground and helicopter EMS, and trauma centers (Levels I-V) for five states.
• Utilized GIS, traffic, and census data to estimate population access within the "golden hour" (60 minutes).

Main Results:

• 87% of 23 million people had access to Level I or II trauma centers within 60 minutes.
• Access increased to 96% when including Levels III-V trauma centers.
• Adding one Level I or II center per state could improve access for an additional 1.1 million people.

Conclusions:

• Nearly universal access to some level of trauma care exists, but gaps persist for Level I/II centers.
• The study presents a robust method for estimating statewide trauma care access.
• Highlights the need for a national trauma system and integrated data for identifying care gaps.