Only THREE Trauma Centers in Kentucky...what a disgrace (Lexington: job, hospitals)

[BLS2753]

Originally Posted by SmokyMtnGal

Love this thread! I am just going to throw out a few things to consider about Level 1 (or lesser level) Trauma Centers. It is VERY expensive to be a Level 1 Trauma Center. The medical center must maintain certain services on a 24/7 basis. Also, they must have 24/7 physician coverage for all affected services. Where certain physicians could be on call from home, at a Level 1 Trauma Center some services must be in house during off hours. Also, states usually have to help subsidize Trauma Centers to the tune of huge sums of money. That money has to come from somewhere and the taxpayers would have to ante up one way or the other. Why do they have to be subsidized? Medical care costs money and many trauma patients are not covered by a health insurance plan and/or do not pay their bills.

Depending on the payer mix of the trauma patients the hospital can do ok; however, it is a crapshoot. A hospital has to request to be a Trauma Center, and do all of the associated work to offer all of the services; so it might behoove the residents of KY to ask the local hospital systems and elected officials why there aren't more trauma centers.

Kudos to Vanderbilt for being there for the region and to TN for helping cover the costs of the trauma patients that are served throughout the state; no matter what the patients home state. It has been said that TN has a weird situation with two Level 1 Trauma Centers so close in proximity (Johnson City and Kingsport) but Kingsport does offer trauma services to many of the residents of southwest Virginia.

Do any of the KY residents go north for trauma or do they mostly all go to Nashville? (I am not sure of the geography)

In the Paducah area: St. Louis, Cape Girardeau MO, and Evansville IN in some instances. Location of accident and type injury have something to do with it I suppose. Burn victims seem to go to St. Louis.

[kentuckydad95]

Originally Posted by BLS2753

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In the Paducah area: St. Louis, Cape Girardeau MO, and Evansville IN in some instances. Location of accident and type injury have something to do with it I suppose. Burn victims seem to go to St. Louis.

I have NEVER heard of anyone being flown to Cape. Maybe they do in the lower most counties of Illinois, but not from KY.

[BLS2753]

Originally Posted by kentuckydad95

I have NEVER heard of anyone being flown to Cape. Maybe they do in the lower most counties of Illinois, but not from KY.

Wickliffe maybe.

[censusdata]

Downtown Nashville is only 25 miles from KY and Cincinnati is right across the river - if you add those trauma centers plus Lou & Lex we probably have better coverage than most states.

If Evansville has one it is also right across the river

[kentuckydad95]

One trauma center in Paducah and all of Western KY and extreme Southern Ill would be covered.

[InLondon]

Originally Posted by SmokyMtnGal

Do any of the KY residents go north for trauma or do they mostly all go to Nashville? (I am not sure of the geography)

Huh? Most KY residents go to UK's trauma center or Louisville......

[dixiegirl7]

Originally Posted by InLondon

Huh? Most KY residents go to UK's trauma center or Louisville......

Not those in southcentral Kentucky. You would usually be lifeflighted to Vanderbilt in Nasville, which is a very short flight.

[kentuckydad95]

In fact, I would be willing to bet that half of KY doesn't go to Louisville or Lexington. Nashville to the south and Evansville to the north.

[kentuckydad95]

I found this story:

WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Hospitals, physicians push for trauma system in Kentucky

An important quote from the story:

Jamie King is convinced the lack of a trauma center in western Kentucky is what killed her 16-year-old daughter, Andrea LaFan.

LaFan was driving to a waitressing job from her home in Dycusburg on June 5, 2006, when a Trans Am speeding down a winding road struck her Chevy head-on. LaFan was airlifted to a Level 2 trauma center, Deaconess Health System in Evansville, Ind., arriving 80 minutes after the wreck. Doctors couldn't save her.

"If she were hurt in Louisville, it is very possible she would have lived," said Dr. William Barnes, a western Kentucky physician who examined her medical records. "But she definitely had no chance where she was."

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by kentuckydad95

In fact, I would be willing to bet that half of KY doesn't go to Louisville or Lexington. Nashville to the south and Evansville to the north.

What incentives will you provide for doctors to live in rural areas? From what I have seen, Louisville covers from about Seymour, IN west to Jasper, IN, south to Madisonville, and east to Frankfort. That is a pretty big area! Some patients from Western Ky are actually stat flighted into Louisville at immense cost to both tax payers, and often, the patient's health. However, there must be data indicating that Western KY is simply too small to support a trauma center.