How much green does it take to be orange? Determining the cost associated with trauma center readiness.

Background: Readiness costs are real expenses incurred by trauma centers to maintain essential infrastructure to provide emergent services on a 24/7 basis. Although the components for readiness are well described in the American College of Surgeons' Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient, the cost associated with each component is not well defined. We hypothesized that meeting the requirements of the 2014 Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient would result in significant costs for trauma centers.

Evaluation of the Georgia trauma system using the American College of Surgeons Needs Based Assessment of Trauma Systems tool.

Background: The American College of Surgeons Needs Based Assessment of Trauma Systems (NBATS) tool was developed to help determine the optimal regional distribution of designated trauma centers (DTC). The objectives of our current study were to compare the current distribution of DTCs in Georgia with the recommended allocation as calculated by the NBATS tool and to see if the NBATS tool identified similar areas of need as defined by our previous analysis using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification Injury Severity Score (ICISS).

Methods: Population counts were acquired from US Census publications.

Descriptive Analysis of Venous Thromboembolism in Georgia Trauma Centers Compared with National Trauma Centers Participating in the Trauma Quality Improvement Program.

This study was designed to compare the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in Georgia trauma centers with other national trauma centers participating in the Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP). The use of chemoprophylaxis and characteristics of patients who developed VTE were also examined. We conducted a retrospective observational study of 325,703 trauma admissions to 245 trauma centers from 2013 to 2014.

What Are the Costs of Trauma Center Readiness? Defining and Standardizing Readiness Costs for Trauma Centers Statewide.

Trauma center readiness costs are incurred to maintain essential infrastructure and capacity to provide emergent services on a 24/7 basis. These costs are not captured by traditional hospital cost accounting, and no national consensus exists on appropriate definitions for each cost. Therefore, in 2010, stakeholders from all Level I and II trauma centers developed a survey tool standardizing and defining trauma center readiness costs.

Successful Incorporation of Performance Based Payments for Trauma Center Readiness Costs into the Georgia Trauma System.

As quality and outcomes have moved to the fore front of medicine in this era of healthcare reform, a state trauma system Performance Based Payments (PBP) program has been incorporated into trauma center readiness funding. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a PBP on trauma center revenue. From 2010 to 2016, a percentage of readiness costs funding to trauma centers was placed in a PBP and withheld until the PBP criteria were completed.

Thoracic Trauma in the Oldest of the Old: An Analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample.

Thoracic trauma (TT) has the second highest mortality rate in the geriatric population. These injuries cause significant morbidity in elderly patients. Little has been done to describe the demographics and mortality of specific injuries in these patients.

"It takes a village" to raise research productivity: Impact of a Trauma Interdisciplinary Group for Research (TIGR) at an urban, Level 1 trauma center.

Background: Few interdisciplinary research groups include basic scientists, pharmacists, therapists, nutritionists, lab technicians, as well as trauma patients and families, in addition to clinicians. Increasing interprofessional diversity within scientific teams working to improve trauma care is a goal of national organizations and federal funding agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This paper describes the design, implementation, and outcomes of a Trauma Interdisciplinary Group for Research (TIGR) at a Level 1 trauma center as it relates to increasing research productivity, with specific examples excerpted from an on-going NIH-funded study.

"It takes a village" to raise research productivity: impact of a Trauma Interdisciplinary Group for Research at an urban, Level 1 trauma center.

Background: Few interdisciplinary research groups include basic scientists, pharmacists, therapists, nutritionists, laboratory technicians, as well as trauma patients and families, in addition to clinicians. Increasing interprofessional diversity within scientific teams working to improve trauma care is a goal of national organizations and federal funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This article describes the design, implementation, and outcomes of a Trauma Interdisciplinary Group for Research (TIGR) at a Level 1 trauma center as it relates to increasing research productivity, with specific examples excerpted from an ongoing NIH-funded study.

Nonoperative management of solid organ injury diminishes surgical resident operative experience: is it time for simulation training?

Background: Nonoperative management (NOM) of solid abdominal organ injury (SAOI) is increasing. Consequently, training programs are challenged to ensure essential operative trauma experience. We hypothesize that the increasing use and success of NOM for SAOI negatively impacts resident operative experience with these injuries and that curriculum-based simulation might be necessary to augment clinical experience.