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Issue Brief

Access to Trauma Healthcare - New Jersey

Scope of the Problem  factual statements on the extent of the problem in the past, current, or future

• 10+ years since trauma system has been improved
• New Jersey has an exclusive trauma system, meaning that all hospitals in the state are not participating.^[1]
•  No state-wide trauma system
•   System would correctly triage patients based on CDC standards
•   Meaning, patients would go to the correct hospital based on their trauma level which would now be standardized 
• Adult and Pediatric Triage Guidelines - Not standardized
• http://www.state.nj.us/health/ems/guideline.shtml#attg 
•  Thus, patients would have better outcomes.
•   33% of patients w/ severe trauma were managed in non-trauma acute care facilities
•   ALS intervention is usually responsible for this. Are we assuming the BLS units do not know where to take patients?
• No State-wide system registry of all trauma admissions.
• To improve patient care and evaluate it.
•  To Establish system benchmarks.
•  To Enable research. 

Top Challenges and Vulnerabilities 

• Not an inclusive trauma system. 
• Timely transport to a trauma center is not assured. 
• No State of local mandate exists to assure the provision or consistent and timely EMS (prehospital) response. 
• No common BLS EMS agency definition exists .
• Volunteer BLS EMS services lack accountability, reporting, and state licensure 
• A state EMT Licensing bill is currently in NJ committee. 
• No standards exists for scene trauma triage or inter-facility transfers. 
• No statewide trauma data collection of EMS, hospital, rehabilitation and Medical Examiner data can be used to evaluate system performance. 
• No enforcement or monitoring of compliance with current statues and regulations occurs. 
• Limited collaboration exists between the Office of EMS, licensing, and other DHSS areas. 
• The existing Trauma Center Council does not involve all key players in the trauma system. 
• No incentives to integrate. 
• No system-wide financial data are available. 
• Trauma transfer policies are not in existence, not enforced or monitored.  
• No trauma research is being conducted.  

Past Policy & Program Milestones  key legislation and milestones including significant policy and funding shifts, major studies, etc.

Current Policy & Programs  summary of current policies in the form of legislation, programs, and funding

• S1650 - Revises requirements for emergency medical services delivery. 

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Key Organizations contacts for public and private organizations

• Government
• Executive Branch
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• Legislative Branch
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• Judicial Branch 
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• Non-Profit
• Service Providing
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• Advocacy/Membership/Network
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• Foundation
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• Other
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Level I Trauma Centers

• UMDNJ-University Hospital, Newark
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick
• Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center, Camden

Level II Trauma Centers

• Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack
• St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Paterson
• Jersey City Medical Center, Jersey City
• Morristown Memorial Hospital, Morristown
• Capital Health System at Fuld, Trenton
• Jersey Shore Medical Center, Neptune
• AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Atlantic City

Bibliography   web sites, reports, articles, and other reference material

Contributor(s):