DAL 13-12: Setting of Timelines and Expectations for New Facilities Entering the Trauma System

March 26, 2013

DAL 13-12: Setting of Timelines and Expectations for New Facilities Entering the Trauma System

Dear Administrator:

As you are aware, the Department has decided to adopt the American College of Surgeon's Committee on Trauma (ACS-COT) standards and verification process for the State's trauma system. The ACS-COT standards allow for four levels of trauma center. Level three and four trauma centers are community hospitals which dedicate their resources to receiving and stabilizing severely injured patients and then transfer those patients to level one and two centers while continuing to care for less severely injured patients. Level three and four trauma centers provide necessary resuscitation and initial care in rural areas where, because of geography, patients cannot be immediately transported to level one or two centers.

You have expressed an interest in becoming a newly designated trauma center. If you intend to pursue designation as a level one, two or three trauma center, please contact Linda Tripoli, Trauma Program Manager, Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, at (518)402-0996, Ext. 2 or at lmt01@health.state.ny.us by May 10, 2013 so that we can include you in the overall State trauma plan. Once you express your intent, you should begin attending your regions Trauma Advisory Committee meetings (if you do not already do so) and the State Trauma Advisory Committee meetings (the dates of which are posted to the trauma web page). You should also subscribe to the group trauma e-mail list by contacting Ms. Tripoli.

In order to continue to participate in the state's trauma system, you will be required to request a consultative visit by May 10, 2015 and request a verification visit two (2) years from receipt of the consultative visit report. Working towards successful verification with the ACS-COT will enable you to continue to participate in the trauma system. ACS-COT standards can be found in the publication "Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient, 2006," which can be ordered through the College's website: https://web4.facs.org/ebusiness/ProductCatalog/ProductCategory.aspx?id=26. Please be aware that a new publication is set to be released within the year. We have been advised that there should not be any substantive changes in the previously issued standards.

Prior to your consultative visit you will need to have in place: a Trauma Service; a Trauma Medical Director; a Trauma Program Manager; a trauma registry; 9-12 months of trauma data; and a performance improvement process of some kind (this does not have to be fully developed at the time of the consultative visit). It is the Department's expectation that you will begin submitting data to the New York State Trauma Registry through the Health Commerce System once your registry is in place.

Currently there are three vendors who support the NYS trauma registry: Digital Innovations (John Kutcher, 410-688-0558), Image Trend (Nick Regier, 952-469-6186) and Lancet Technologies (Leon Bowman, 717-687-0128). You will also be required to submit data to the National Trauma Data Bank, which all of the vendors will facilitate. The data dictionary for the NYS trauma registry can be found at: http://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/ems/state_trauma/trauma_registry_data_dictionary.htm. Additional trauma resources can be found on the Program's website: http://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/ems/state_trauma/.

Molly Lozada, administrator for the verification process at the ACS-COT, can be reached at (312) 202-5456 or at mlozada@facs.org to answer any specific questions regarding the ACS-COT standards you may have.

Thank you for your interest, and I look forward to your participation in the state trauma system.

Sincerely,

Karen Westervelt
Deputy Commissioner
Offices of Primary Care and
Health Systems Management