HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration today announced four new grants totaling $160,000 to Alaska, Indiana, Michigan and New Jersey to help strengthen their trauma system infrastructure.
 
Grants of $40,000 each will go to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (Juneau); the Indiana Department of Health (Indianapolis); the Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services (Lansing); and the New Jersey Department of Health, Office of Emergency Medical Services (Trenton).  Forty-three states received continuation grants totaling $1.6 million.
 
“Recent disasters have awakened us all to the need to improve our emergency preparedness,” said HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke.  “These grants will help ensure that states and communities have trauma systems in place to provide rapid, systematic, and organized trauma care.”
 
HRSA’s Trauma-Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Program administers the grants, which are designed to help ensure that key infrastructure elements are in place in every state, including identifying a lead agency and manager for trauma system development and implementing a statewide trauma system plan.
 
HRSA analyzed state and local efforts to coordinate emergency trauma care in a 2002 publication, A 2002 National Assessment of State Trauma System Development, Emergency Medical Services Resources, and Disaster Readiness for Mass Casualty Events (http://www.hrsa.gov/trauma/survey/default.htm).  For more information, visit http://www.hrsa.gov/trauma/.