New Jersey § 26:2kk-1

§ 26:2kk-1.

The Legislature finds and declares that: a. Injury is the leading cause of death for New Jersey citizens aged one to 44, the

fourth leading cause of death for all age groups, and accounts for more than 60,000

emergency department visits in the State each year, with direct medical costs estimated

to be in excess of $2 billion; b. At the request of the Department of Health, the American College of Surgeons Trauma

Systems Evaluation and Planning Committee assessed the State's trauma system and made

numerous recommendations for its improvement. The committee found that, while the provision of trauma care in New Jersey has many

dedicated trauma professionals, a sufficient number of ten trauma centers strategically

located in the State, and 100 percent emergency medical services coverage, the trauma

care system faces many challenges. Among the challenges noted by the committee are the absence of one lead State agency

to oversee and ensure the coordination of a Statewide trauma system and the absence

of systematic data collection concerning the various aspects of trauma care in the

State; c. Among the recommendations made by the committee to address the challenges to the

State trauma system were: establishment of a statutorily authorized lead agency to

oversee the development of a formal State trauma system, appointment of a designated

leader to coordinate stakeholders involved in all aspects of providing trauma care

in the development, maintenance, and ongoing evaluation of a formal State trauma system,

the creation of an advisory body to formulate policies that address all aspects of

patient care, and the development of prevention strategies to help control injury

as part of a formal State trauma system; d. While there currently exists a Trauma Center Council in New Jersey which represents

multidisciplinary trauma care within the State-designated trauma centers, this Council

is focused on the activities and operations of New Jersey's State-designated trauma

centers, with limitations in developing an effective trauma system for the State of

New Jersey; and e. In order to more effectively prevent injury, improve the care and outcomes of individuals

who are injured in New Jersey, and save lives, it is appropriate to ensure the development

and implementation of a formal State trauma system to serve injured patients in the

State along the continuum of their care, and establish means for ongoing data collection

and input from relevant stakeholders in the State's trauma care system to inform policies

concerning trauma care in the State.