Legislation backed by Rep. Matt Gaetz has cleared the way for trauma centers to be built in less populated regions across Florida.
The measure is being hailed as a victory for Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, which has lobbied for several years to become approved for a trauma center.
The legislation “is a great first stepfor providing quality trauma care in some underserved areas of our state,” Dr. Tama Van Decar, chief medical officer at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, said in a news release Monday.
Fort Walton Beach Medical Center officials have said it’s in patients’ best interest to have a trauma center in Okaloosa County, or at least closer than Pensacola.
“Traumatically injured patients from Walton and Okaloosa counties have to endure transport times to the nearest trauma center 50 miles away,” Van Decar said. “These long transport times put too many lives at risk.”
The new rules are included in an amendment to a larger health care bill that was passed in the final minutes of the 2013 legislative session.
“This is the hardest bill I’ve ever had to pass,” Gaetz said. “It’s a highly complex turf war between medical providers.”
Under the new rules, a trauma service network with a population of more than 600,000 but a population density of less than 225 people per square mile can be placed on a fast track for approval to build a trauma center.
“As long as your hospital gets certified by the American College of Surgeons, you’ve got the right people, you’ve got the right facilities, you’ve got the right equipment, you can become a trauma center,” Gaetz said.
The new legislation benefits “those communities where there is really an access issue,” he added.
“If someone is in a bad car wreck, if we have a senior citizen who takes a bad fall and has major internal damage, we don’t have to be reliant on good weather and a helicopter to save their life,” Gaetz said.
Okaloosa County Public Safety Director Dino Villani agreed, noting that his emergency responders have geographical obstacles that they’re “battling every day.”
“This could have a great positive impact,” he said, adding that medical helicopter services are expensive and dependant upon the weather.
The next step involves Fort Walton Beach Medical Center officials securing more community support for a trauma center.
Mitch Mongell, chief executive officer of Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, said the hospital will work to “formalize” its trauma plan and identify a timeline for community education, staff training and facility improvements.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari C. Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.