WASHINGTON, DC: Today, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) expressed its ringing endorsement of the successful passage of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2019 (PAHPAI) (H.R. 269/S. 1379) by the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. PAHPAI contains the ACS-supported Mission Zero Act which provides grant funding to assist integrating military trauma care providers and teams into civilian trauma centers and is essential to ensuring trauma care readiness in times of both peace and conflict.
“PAHPAI represents significant progress in the process of ensuring that trauma systems, centers, and health care providers are able to meet the needs of all Americans,” said ACS Executive Director David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS. “This legislation establishes the framework for a trauma system that can provide the highest-quality emergency medical care.”
The Mission Zero Act stems from the June 2016 National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) report entitled, “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 NASEM report calls for the establishment of military-civilian trauma partnerships to help further reduce the number of preventable traumatic deaths.
PAHPAI also includes language related to volunteer health care providers, which seeks to reduce barriers for health care providers looking to volunteer during a federally-declared disaster.
“The ability for health care providers to easily respond during times of disaster will help to greatly decrease loss of life as well as improve outcomes during federally-declared public health emergencies,” Dr. Hoyt said.
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 is thankful to all members of Congress for successful passage of PAHPAI and helping to ensure that everyone, regardless of their location, will have access to the highest-quality trauma care. Specifically, ACS appreciates the hard work and dedication of the Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, Michael Burgess, MD (R-TX), and Representatives Cathy Castor (D-FL) and Richard Hudson (R-NC) and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veteran’s Affairs, Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Senate Majority Whip, John Cornyn (R-TX), and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) for their leadership in sponsoring the Mission Zero Act,” Dr. Hoyt said.
“FACS” designates that a surgeon is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
