New trauma patient care plan coming in North Georgia

Logan Boss, Northwest Georgia Public Health

A plan to significantly improve the care of trauma patients in the 16-county Northwest Georgia region will be unveiled Thursday in Calhoun, public health officials said Tuesday.

There are 10 emergency management services regions in Georgia, and this one has a unique set of challenges, said David Foster, Region 1 Georgia Office of EMS and Trauma program director.

“We’re the only region that borders three states — Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina — and three EMS regions,” he said. With that complication in mind, planners are meeting with representatives of hospitals, ambulance services and other stakeholders from those areas, he said.

Many of the weaknesses of the state’s current trauma care system involve access to higher-level trauma centers and access from some rural areas to any trauma center, Foster said. The goal of the new plan is “getting our patients to the right facility in the right amount of time,” he said.