Section 25-3.5-703 - DefinitionsAs used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2000, p. 537, § 16, effective July 1, 2000.)(2) "Board" means the state board of health.(3.5) "Council" means the state emergency medical and trauma services advisory council created by section 25-3.5-104.(4) "Designation" means the process undertaken by the department to assign a status to a health-care facility based on the level of trauma services the facility is capable of and committed to providing to injured persons. Facilities may be designated at one of the following levels:(a) Nondesignated, which is for facilities that do not meet the criteria required for level I to V facilities, but that receive and are accountable for injured persons, which accountability includes having a transfer agreement to transfer persons to level I to V facilities as determined by rules promulgated by the board;(a.5) Level V, which is for basic trauma care in rural areas, including resuscitation, stabilization, and arrangement for the transfer of all patients with potentially life- or limb-threatening injuries, consistent with triage and transport protocols as recommended by the council and adopted by the board. Level V facilities shall transfer patients within their own region or to a higher level facility in another region, as described in paragraphs (c), (d), and (e) of this subsection (4).(b) Level IV, which is for basic trauma care, including resuscitation, stabilization, and arrangement for appropriate transfer of persons requiring a higher level of care based upon patient criticality and triage practices within each facility, which are consistent with triage criteria and transport protocols as recommended by the council and adopted by the board. These facilities must transfer appropriate patients to a higher level facility within their own region or to a higher level facility in another region, as described in paragraphs (d) and (e) of this subsection (4).(c) Level III, which is for general trauma care, including resuscitation, stabilization, and assessment of injured persons, and either the provision of care for the injured person or arrangement for appropriate transfer based upon patient criticality and triage practices within each facility, which are consistent with triage criteria and transport protocols as recommended by the council and adopted by the board. The facilities must transfer appropriate patients to a higher level facility within its own region or to a higher level facility in another region, as described in paragraphs (d) and (e) of this subsection (4).(d) Level II, which is for major trauma care based upon patient criticality and triage practices within each facility, which are consistent with triage criteria and transport protocols as recommended by the council and adopted by the board. This type of facility may serve as a resource for lower level facilities when a level I facility, as described in paragraph (e) of this subsection (4), is not available within its region, but it is not a facility required to conduct research or provide comprehensive services through subspecialty units such as, but not limited to, burn units, spinal cord injury centers, eye trauma centers, and reimplantation centers.(e) Level I, which is for comprehensive trauma care, including the acute management of the most severely injured patients, which is a facility that may serve as the ultimate resource for lower level facilities or as the key resource facility for a trauma area and which is a facility that provides education in trauma-related areas for health-care professionals and performs trauma research;(f) Regional pediatric trauma center, which is a facility that provides comprehensive pediatric trauma care, including acute management of the most severely injured pediatric trauma patients, and is a facility that may serve as an ultimate resource for lower level facilities on pediatric trauma care, and which is a facility that performs pediatric trauma research and provides pediatric trauma education for health-care professionals. No facility shall be deemed a regional pediatric trauma center unless the facility predominately serves children and is a facility where at least eighty-five percent of hospital admissions are for individuals who are under eighteen years of age. A separate administrative unit within a general hospital or hospital system shall not be deemed a regional pediatric trauma center.(5) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2000, p. 537, § 16, effective July 1, 2000.)(6) "Interfacility transfer" means the movement of a trauma victim from one facility to another.(6.5) "Key resource facility" means a level I or level II certified trauma facility that provides consultation and technical assistance to a RETAC, as such term is defined in subsection (6.8) of this section, regarding education, quality, training, communication, and other trauma issues described in this part 7 that relate to the development of the statewide trauma care system.(6.8) "Regional emergency medical and trauma services advisory council" or "RETAC" means the representative body appointed by the governing bodies of counties or cities and counties for the purpose of providing recommendations concerning regional area emergency medical and trauma service plans for such counties or cities and counties.(8) "Statewide trauma registry" means a statewide database of information concerning injured persons and licensed facilities receiving injured persons, which information is used to evaluate and improve the quality of patient management and care and the quality of trauma education, research, and injury prevention programs. The database integrates medical and trauma systems information related to patient diagnosis and provision of care. Such information includes epidemiologic and demographic information.(9) "Trauma" means an injury or wound to a living person caused by the application of an external force or by violence. Trauma includes any serious life-threatening or limb-threatening situations.(10) "Trauma care system" means an organized approach to providing quality and coordinated care to trauma victims throughout the state on a twenty-four-hour per day basis by transporting a trauma victim to the appropriate trauma designated facility.(11) "Trauma transport protocols" means written standards adopted by the board that address the use of appropriate resources to move trauma victims from one level of care to another on a continuum of care.(12) "Triage" means the assessment and classification of an injured person in order to determine the severity of trauma injury and to prioritize care for the injured person.(13) "Verification process" means a procedure to evaluate a facility's compliance with trauma care standards established by the board and to make recommendations to the department concerning the designation of a facility.L. 95: Entire part R&RE, p. 1352, § 3, effective July 1. L. 99: (4) amended, p. 412, § 1, effective April 22. L. 2000: (1), (4)(a), (4)(b), (4)(c), (4)(d), (4)(f), (5), and (6.5) amended and (3.5), (4)(a.5), and (6.8) added, pp. 537, 538, §§ 16, 17, effective July 1; (3) and (7) repealed, p. 547, § 26, effective 1/1/2001.