A clinic set up next to the trauma centers to handle illegals and subsidized visitors would not only expedite service, but take a load off of the trauma centers. Kind of like nuisance triage. The increased efficiency would have to lower costs.
ATLANTA --- MCG Health System will receive almost $5.1 million as part of a plan to help keep the state's 14 trauma-care hospitals afloat until the Legislature can come up with a permanent source of funding for the financially beleaguered network.
The money was among $58.9 million doled out Monday by the Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission, the first time the state has put forward significant funding in an effort to help hospitals designed to treat the most severely injured patients.
"This one-time infusion at least stabilized or saved what fragile system we had," said Dr. Dennis Ashley, who leads the commission.
Rich Bias, the senior vice president for ambulatory and network services for MCG Health System, applauded the decision even as he stressed the need for permanent funding from the General Assembly.
"I think it's a reasonable foundation to consider going forward when we get the funds that we're looking for from the Legislature in the future," Mr. Bias said.
Still, the allocation for MCG Health was less than the $4,229 average per-patient funding received by the trauma hospitals. MCG Health got about $3,248 a patient, lowest in the state.
In all, hospitals received $40.1 million of the money set aside for trauma care, and another $12 million will go to doctors who work in trauma care.
"That's a huge assistance to us on the medical staff side, because there had never been anything to assist our physician practices and allow them to be as supportive as we need them to be," Mr. Bias said.
Another $6.5 million went to the emergency medical services providers, like ambulances, and the rest went to the commission to cover administrative costs.
Advocates and hospital executives say the trauma-care situation will not be completely fixed until the General Assembly can give a regular stream of money.
"The idea that 700 people die every year in Georgia because we don't have a strong, viable trauma network is not acceptable under any circumstances," said Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta.
Reach Brandon Larrabee at (678) 977-3709 or brandon.larrabee@morris.com.
ALLOCATED FUNDS
Amounts received by each of the state's four Level I trauma care centers, which treat the most severely injured patients:
- Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta: $12,704,126
- Memorial University Medical Center, Savannah: $5,662,618
- MCG Health System, Augusta: $5,070,872
- Medical Center of Central Georgia, Macon: $3,553,873
Source: Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission
Comments
A clinic set up next to the trauma centers to handle illegals and subsidized visitors would not only expedite service, but take a load off of the trauma centers. Kind of like nuisance triage. The increased efficiency would have to lower costs.
Perhaps you're thinking of general misuse of Emergency Departments for the non-emergency care? Many hospitals do provide clinics or other acute care areas to redirect patients when the complaint is of a non-emergency issue (suture removal, coughs and cold, immunizations..things like that). That frees up the ER for those heart attacks, strokes, broken bones, etc.
But "Trauma Centers" provide care for patients whose injuries are often far beyond those heart attacks, strokes and simple broken bones. They require a higher level of response in personnel and resources. The trauma center response doesn't hinge on ones legal/illegal status or if one can pay the bill (subsidiized, you said?) and those issues get dealt with later..it can wait until after the initial trauma care is provided... after that "Golden Hour" y'know?
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