Dig Deeper: Trauma Centers
Many of the nation's trauma centers are themselves in a state of emergency. They're losing money fast - and in at least a dozen regions, that's putting 9-1-1 care in a state of crisis, CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann reported.
There are 768 trauma centers nationwide. Only 229 of them provide the expertise and care of a Level I. But without intervention, many of their failing finances could cause them to go under.
Is Your Area At Risk Of Losing A Trauma Center?
At least a dozen Type-1 Trauma centers are in serious fiscal distress, making them at high risk of closing. Where are they located?
Where Have Trauma Centers Have Closed* Since 2000
Level I Trauma CentersCalifornia: L.A. County Alabama: Carraway Methodist (Birmingham) Tennessee: University of Tennessee Bowld Hospital (Memphis) Level II
Arizona: Tucson Pennsylvania: Brandywine (Coatsville) Illinois (two): Proctor (Peoria) and Provena Good Samaritan (Danville) Missouri: St. Joseph (Kansas City) New Jersey: St. Peter's University Hospital (New Brunswick) New York: Hudson Valley Texas: Wadley (Texarkana) Idaho (two): St. Alphonsus (Boise) and Portneuf Medical Center (Pocatello) Level III
South Carolina (four): Aiken, Georgetown Memorial Hospital, Marion Memorial Hospital and Hilton Head Texas: Wilson N. Jones North Carolina: Carolina Pines Ohio: Upper Valley Medical Center *Closure defined as loss of ACS verification or state designation.
What's Washington Doing?
On Nov. 7, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., proposed legislation that would provide $100 million to support trauma care centers across the country, including the only Level I trauma center serving the Northwest U.S. states of Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. Murray said: "My bill will ensure that the strain of increased costs and charity care doesn't block the trauma care Americans rely on. It will ensure that by opening the doors of trauma care to all we are not causing the doors of some facilities to close for good."Read Murray's news release about the bill, called the National Trauma Care Stabilization Act, she sponsored here. Or read the entire text of the bill here.
More resources
To check out the American Coalition for Trauma Care, click here. The National Foundation for Trauma Care seeks to "secure the economic viability of America's Trauma Centers and foster the development of a national system of trauma care so that access to excellent care for the seriously injured is assured." More about the American Trauma Society can be found here. Read all about it at the Journal of Trauma. Find out more about the Society of Trauma Nurses here. Check out Trauma.org, an independent, non-profit organization that educates and informs trauma-care professionals.