Study: Access to trauma care improving in U.S.

A new study has found that access to trauma care improved nationally in the 2010s (Source: “Access to trauma care is improving across the country, but progress remains uneven,” Stat News, Aug. 9).

The new research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, mapped the distance from each census block to the nearest trauma center, taking into account air and land transport. The researchers found that 91% of people in the U.S. could get to a trauma center within 60 minutes by air or land travel, up from 78% in 2013.

Trauma centers differ from regular hospitals — they have to meet certain benchmarks on care and have specific staff on call around the clock.

The study, which looked at trauma centers verified by the American College of Surgeons, found that access differed across regions. Native Americans faced the lowest access to trauma care at 70%, as well as the smallest improvement to access among any group. The share of people living in proximity to a trauma center was also lower in rural states like Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota, and in the South, where it dipped below 50% in two states.