The Alabama Department of Public Health and the Office of Emergency Medical Services are excited to announce the activation of the Southeast Region (Region Five) in southeast Alabama in the Alabama Trauma System. The enactment of Act
No. 07-299, establishing a statewide trauma system in March 2007, offers a unique opportunity to positively impact the lives of the citizens of Alabama.
Currently there are five Emergency Medical Service regions participating, resulting in total coverage of Alabama. Prior to the inclusion of the Southeast Region there were 41 trauma centers in the trauma system. The activation of this additional region will bring 13 more trauma centers into the system, resulting in statewide coverage and a total of 57 participating trauma centers. There are 167 ground and two air units in Region Five, and 1,166 ground and 12 air units statewide. In addition, eight out-of-state air units are operating in Alabama.
Regions that are already participating in the trauma system have noted reduced hospital stays, which indicates timely trauma center arrivals to the appropriate hospital with the resources to treat their injuries. Prior to the inception of the trauma system, the average hospital length of stay was 5.72 days, compared to the 5.15 days after the inception of the system. This is approximately a 10 percent reduction in the length of hospital stays for traumas that have been reported to Office of Emergency Medical Services. Reduced hospitalization times lead to reduced health care costs per patient and improved patient outcomes.
“This is a great day for the Alabama Trauma System and for the citizens of our state,” Dr. William Crawford, EMS Medical Director, said. “With the activation of Region Five’s trauma centers we now have all of our state operating within the Alabama Trauma System. This should lead to fewer lives lost due to traumatic injuries, along with reduced health care costs and reduced hospital stays due to trauma. I certainly appreciate all of the hard work by all of the stakeholders to bring Region Five online in the Alabama Trauma System.”
The Alabama Department of Public Health and the Office of Emergency Medical Services applaud progressive hospitals, emergency medical service personnel, and Alabama Trauma Communications Center partners for working to provide needed access to care, and thus minimizing death and disability from trauma for all Alabamians.
The trauma system will operate in Autauga, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Elmore, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Montgomery, Pike and Russell counties.
These are the Southeast Region trauma centers and their designation levels. A Level II designation means a hospital can accept more complex cases than a Level III hospital.
Andalusia Regional Hospital, Level III
Baptist Medical Center South, Level II
Community Hospital, Level III
Dale Medical Center, Level III
East Alabama Medical Center, Level III
Flowers Hospital, Provisional Level II
Jackson Hospital, Level III
L.V. Stabler Memorial Hospital, Level III
Medical Center Barbour, Level III
Medical Center Enterprise, Level III
Mizell Memorial Hospital, Level III
Southeast Alabama Medical Center, Level II
Troy Regional Medical Center, Level III
