Trauma Centers Fight For Their Lives

The Clock Is Ticking For More Than A Dozen Financially-Strapped Trauma Centers Nationwide

(CBS)  At Grady Memorial Hospital, the clock's ticking for trauma patients - and for the hospital.

At any Level 1 trauma center like Grady, you'll find sixteen different surgical specialties 24/7 - from brain surgeons to orthopedic experts, CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann reports.

“There’s no space in this trauma bay, and there’s no space in this trauma bay,” one medical staffer said.

Dr. Leon Haley's teams treat 4,000 trauma patients a year.

If there’s an ugly car accident, shooting, stabbing, where do you want to go?

“This is where you want to go,” Haley said.

But no one can stop Grady’s bleeding.

This year it could lose $55 million - and close. There are too many patients with no way to pay.

If Grady closed, Atlanta would have a true trauma 9-1-1. In a metro area of more than 4 million people, this is the only Level 1 trauma center.

From Los Angeles to Chicago to Birmingham, 20 trauma centers have closed since 2000. And America's trauma centers will lose another $1 billion this year.

In 2003, Oklahoma University's Trauma Center almost went under. The state had a novel solution.

First the hospital educated voters. Trauma care is critical - not just for shooting and stabbing victims, but for everyone.

“I’ve had friends leave the hospital to go home. I’ve said goodbye to them and 20 minutes later they were back in my trauma room at my facility,” said Roxie Albrecht, M.D. and Associate Professor of Surgery Director of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. "So it can happen to anyone at any time."

Skip Sellers crashed his motorcycle and lost parts of three limbs. Oklahoma University trauma center saved his life.

“Everybody here has somebody they really, really love. And you don’t know when they might have an accident,” Sellers said. “And you don’t know when they might need the trauma unit. But you’d better ... hope it’s there.”

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FYI: Where are trauma centers at risk and what's being done?

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Sellers helped convince Oklahomans to raise cigarette taxes, and generate millions for trauma care.

Georgia has no plans to bail out Grady.

“We would love to be benevolent; we would love to give away all of this care,” Georgia’s Lt. Gov., Casey Cagle, said. “But somebody’s got to pay for it.”

And how close to running out of time?

“It’s getting close,” Haley said. “It's gettin' Real close.”

Nationally, more than a dozen trauma centers share Grady's prognosis.

“People are going to die, and it’s purely preventable,” Albrecht said.

Grady's in a fight for its own life.

[easyD1961]

You don't keep taxing the same group!
How many people are rushed to trauma centers for smoking? Not that many!
How many are rushed to trauma centers for alcohol related accidents? Hundreds!
Tax the alcohol you morons!
And don't make insured people wait hours with a broken bone while illegals that aren't going to pay fill up the ER with the flu. There should be two lines if you are going to keep handing out healthare. That way, the statistics will be clear and unquestionable.

[bb19631]

Healthcare is a big issue in this country!! I hope this facility don''t close. A life is priceless.

[bhappy2-2]

HEY CBS-
Why is there a comment section for this story:
Mexico Assails U.S. Pols On Immigration
If YOU aren''t going to SHOW the comments? Are you afraid the citizens of America might PISSOFF the president of mexico by telling him he can take his 20 million ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS home? Are you concerned we, the citizens of America, might tell him if his CRIMINALS don''t want to be harassed they should SELF DEPORT? Why don''t you show the comment about these ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS and their sorry excuse for a president? What makes him think he can dictate ANYTHING to OUR COUNTRY when his country is so bad HIS people are leaving in droves?

[grammawhamma]

Yeah...tax the smokers once again. NOT!! I am a nurse who responds to major traumas in my hospital''s emergency room. Granted...it''s a small rural hospital...but 90% (or more) of the traumas we deal with have alcohol involved. Tax the alcohol!!

[eddoc4]

Grady is no different than any other major metropolitan, public hospital with both insured and uninsured patients. Trauma doesn''t differentiate between those with insurance or those without - when a life-threatening event occurs, you better hope that the trauma center is there to take care of you. If it isn''t, if trauma centers like Grady are allowed to die because of assumptions and prejudices, then it won''t matter how much money you have - you''ll be dead.

[prinzowhales]

How many of Grady''s trauma center patients are illegal alliens, working for low wages and getting full health coverage from the taxpayers of Atlanta?

Let''s see the breakdown on the patient types...how many are there for colds and flu...just taking up space and wasting peoples time? How many from drugs, alcohol and other modes of self-destruction? And, how many are there thanks to the untoward side effects of the so-called ethical drugs? Tylenol is the major cause of liver transplants in America...not surprisingly its not outlawed...

[godofredo29]

I can''t believe we''re sending billions of dollars to Iraq and we can''t spare money for health care, including trauma centers.

[eggy1620]

This is Darwinism in action. Risk takers and people involved in violent crimes will be unlikely to survive their injuries. Then they will not be able to pass their risk and violence genes onto the next generation. Unfortunately, innocent accident victims and street crime bystanders will be ensared and suffer as well.

[drivelphobe]

It''s time to stop giving free emergency treatment to those who aren''t responsible enough to have insurance or financial resources.

[slim1h2o]

And its here, I%u2019m am just about ready to snap on these self righteous snobby little mother******* who think that they can dictate who is and is not worthy of their rights.
More people drink than smoke. More people go to movies than those who smoke. More people do the same unbeneficial things in this country than those that smoke. So WTH ?
Why should it only be the responsability of smokers, or someone who wants to eat chocolate or McDonalds ?

%u201COh ! you%u2019re performing less than healthy practices so were gonna nail you for the money instead of us actually fixing the problem%u201D
This *** has to stop, it just simply has to stop.

Posted by micky26 at 11:36

I get feeling the same way, when talking about this good for nothing Medical System, and our taxes being hi jacked for some congressmans pet project, instead of funding ways to fix the Med. system. Those Morons

[llamaduck-2009]

%u201CWe would love to be benevolent; we would love to give away all of this care,%u201D Georgia%u2019s Lt. Gov., Casey Cagle, said. %u201CBut somebody%u2019s got to pay for it.%u201D

...

I hope he''s never in need of the trauma center he refuses to fund.

[mcvet]

Most trauma patients are either gang members attacking each other, or drunk drivers, neither of which has insurance.
I''''d rather spend my money killing terrorists.


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Posted by victjuli at 07:12 PM : Nov 15, 2007
+ report abuse

First of all your post is a COMPLETE LIE! The TRUTH is that, as this nation ages, we have many more folks with health conditions that call for emergency care so we need to address the WORST Health Care System in the "Free" World. We NOW have OVER 47 MILLION of our citizens who have NO option but to use the Emergency Rooms of these Hospitals and THEY do not have coverage. Continuing to listen to these FASCIST is going to distroy this nation. We need to FOCUS on AMERICAN''s... they SHOULD come first. Sieg Heil Bush!!

[mcvet]

rtsink.
You could not be more wrong.
America saves more lives in one day than all the other countries in this world combined.
And saved more than any other in history.


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Posted by micky26 at 11:40 PM : Nov 15, 2007
+ report abuse

That is just NOT true, not anymore. Amoung the Industrialized Countries our Health Care System cost us MORE than all the rest and provides care to less than all the rest. It''s just a fact we can''t get around. ONCE our hospitials and Medical System was the best in the world but that was before "Trickle Down" and Free Trade distroyed the Middle Class. THEY were the folks supporting the system and thus the PEOPLE of this nation. Sieg Heil Bush!!

[micky26-2009]

rtsink.
You could not be more wrong.
America saves more lives in one day than all the other countries in this world combined.
And saved more than any other in history.

[micky26-2009]

Alot of the states that are having this problem are conspicuosly close to the border.
So what was the answer that is being recommended for this problem?
Raise cigarette taxes !
You can raise my taxes if it goes to close the border. That would be alright with me.
But to pay for the feds not doing their job!
Screw them !
Why just smokers ? Are we the less important evil doers that deserve to pay for an inefficient system ?
I alot of posting on this subject and I usually try to keep my comments short and poignant on the subject because I%u2019m so pissed about this its easier than anything for me to snowball into a full blown fury.
And its here, I%u2019m am just about ready to snap on these self righteous snobby little mother******* who think that they can dictate who is and is not worthy of their rights.
More people drink than smoke. More people go to movies than those who smoke. More people do the same unbeneficial things in this country than those that smoke. So WTH ?
Why should it only be the responsability of smokers, or someone who wants to eat chocolate or McDonalds ?

%u201COh ! you%u2019re performing less than healthy practices so were gonna nail you for the money instead of us actually fixing the problem%u201D
This *** has to stop, it just simply has to stop.

[marcpcbs]

I think that one way to get extra funding for emergency rooms and trauma centers is to dedicate the ticket fines collected for seat belt and motorcycle helmet infractions to these centers.

Lots of people end up in emergency rooms and trauma centers because they weren''t wearing seat belts or motorcycle helmets.

[cjmpotter]

Over 80& of trauma patients are injured in motor vehicle related crashes. These are victims of impaired drivers, red light runners or distracted, i.e., cell phone talking text messaging everone you know. One in four persons in this country will be effected by trauma at some point in their lifetime, either themselves or a family member. For every death, more than 13 are permanently injured - at a huge cost to society. Trauma centers save lives and reduce disability.

[victjuli]

Most trauma patients are either gang members attacking each other, or drunk drivers, neither of which has insurance.
I''d rather spend my money killing terrorists.

[rtsink]

The reason that our government is not doing more to assist with level 1 trama centers is because they would rather spend billions killing people than keeping people alive. Period. Check the facts if you dont believe me.

[duffyn]

I certainly hope a way will be found to save the Grady Trauma Center. What a stupid uncreative, uncaring lt. governor!!!!