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Article published Feb 12, 2004
Peeler bill would take pressure off trauma centers
ROBERT W. DALTON
Staff Writer
COLUMBIA -- A bill that would create a statewide trauma care system could come to a vote in the state Senate as early as next week.The bill, sponsored by Sen. Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, would empower the state Department of Health and Environmental Control to set standards and regulations for levels of trauma center designations, create an advisory council to oversee the development of the system and establish a fund to handle payment of DHEC's expenses in running the system.The bill was passed out of the Senate Medical Affairs Committee on Wednesday."This bill is the first step in creating a unified system that ultimately will provide quality care at the local, regional and state levels," said Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, a member of the Medical Affairs Committee."Hopefully, if it's successful, it will create more Level II and Level III trauma centers and take the pressure off the Level I centers."Level I trauma centers provide the highest level of care for the most severe injuries. They provide education and research, and a trauma surgeon must be on duty at all times.Spartanburg Regional Medical Center is one of only four Level I centers in the state. Greenville Memorial, MUSC in Charleston and Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia are the others.There are two Level II centers -- in Anderson and Florence -- and 17 Level III centers.Matthew Van Patton, SRMC's director of public affairs, said getting prompt, quality care at a trauma center could make the difference between a complete recovery and being disabled or worse."Trauma centers save lives, and they also save money," Van Pattonsaid. "Access to a trauma center can lead to a full recovery and prevent long-term care and the loss of economic activity."But maintaining a trauma center is voluntary and the high cost of running one is forcing many health-care systems to take a second look, Van Patton said. MUSC closed its burn unit in 2002, and Aiken Regional Medical Center withdrew as a trauma center in July."That's the danger we face without securing the trauma system," Van Patton said.Van Patton said trauma centers statewide had $18.3 million in unrecovered costs in 2001."Trauma costs the health-care system in this state a lot of money," he said. "A lot of times these patients don't have any insurance or the ability to pay, yet they have acute care needs. That care can add up to a significant amount of money."Creating a unified system and establishing a fund to help pay the expenses would greatly ease the burden, Van Patton said.Peeler said his proposal is a step in that direction."This bill sets up the infrastructure for funding trauma centers," Peeler said. "It also gives hospitals and other health-care providers a seat at the table where decisions about spending are made."Robert W. Dalton can be reached at 562-7223 or bob.dalton@shj.com.