American College of Surgeons Applauds U.S. House of Representatives for Passing the Mission Zero Act (H.R. 880)

WASHINGTON, DC: The American College of Surgeons (ACS) applauds the U.S. House of Representatives on passage of the Mission Zero Act (H.R. 880). This ACS-supported legislation establishes a grant program to assist civilian trauma centers in partnering with military trauma professionals to create a pathway to provide patients with the highest quality of trauma care in times of both peace and war.

“It has been a priority of the ACS to establish and maintain high-quality and adequately-funded trauma systems throughout the United States, including within the Armed Forces,” said David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS, ACS Executive Director. “This legislation is an excellent first step to enhance readiness for military health care providers and to promote the sharing of trauma care best practices among our military and civilian trauma teams,” Dr. Hoyt said.

This legislation stemmed from the June 2016 National Academy of Medicine (NAM) report—A National Trauma Care System: Integrating Military and Civilian Trauma Systems to Achieve Zero Preventable Deaths After Injury, of which ACS was a sponsor. This report outlines 11 recommendations necessary to secure a national trauma system and sets the goal of achieving zero preventable deaths. Recommendation number 11 of the NAM report calls for the establishment of military-civilian trauma partnerships to help further reduce the number of preventable traumatic deaths.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), trauma is the leading cause of death for children and adults under age 44, killing more Americans than AIDS and stroke combined.

“The ACS commends Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, Michael Burgess, MD (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, Gene Green (D-TX), and Representatives Cathy Castor (D-FL) and Richard Hudson (R-NC) for their leadership on this important issue,” Dr. Hoyt said.

"FACS" designates that a surgeon is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

About the American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has approximately 90,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. "FACS" designates that a surgeon is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

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