Georgia County Government - February 2009 - (Page 17)

provide directions for the EMS crews to assist them in fi nding patient locations. The two main system advantages would be to allow the EMS personnel immediate directions to an incident location or hospital they are unfamiliar with. In a disaster situation this would allow an EMS crew to be directed to a specific staging area with little involvement of the incident commander. At the same time the incident commander, using an appropriate security code, could go on the Internet to see all the available EMS units en route to the incident. Th is system could be extremely valuable if appropriate security safe guards are added to the system, and the system is configured to provide a value added component to the local EMS system. The Commission has allocated $996,452 for this. These monies have also been frozen due to budget constraints. more than $1.4 million currently available to eligible EMS agencies in Georgia to reimburse for uncompensated care. S.B. 60 addressed this, but for the EMS community there is a flaw in the system. The uncompensated care monies can only be paid to EMS systems that transport their patients to a designated trauma center. The EMS is now dependent on their hospitals volunteering to be a part of this system. In South Georgia where there are very few hospitals that currently participate in the system, the EMS in those areas are not able to receive this funding. The GAEMS hopes to address this issue during the next legislative session. Uncompensated Care Cost The third area the Commission has addressed is payment for the cost of uncompensated care provided by the trauma system stakeholders. There is What Needs to Be Done? For these improvements to continue there must be a method of long-term sustainable funding. Few hospitals are in a position to invest the time, money and personnel in upgrading to a designated trauma center without a reasonable belief that monies will be available to pay for these improvements. In today’s tight budget environment many EMS agencies are struggling to fund coverage of their 911 zones. The additional responsibility of transporting patients directly to a trauma center will be an additional financial burden. Physicians, who are often asked to cancel surgery for their regular patients to be available to care for these acutely injured patients must be compensated for this effort. The EMS system in Georgia is fragmented and fragile. Not unlike the trauma system itself, the EMS system in Georgia could be called a “system” in name only. The governor and the Legislature are to be commended for the work they have done. The Commission is composed of smart men and women who are working hard to improve the system. The citizens of Georgia, both rural and urban, deserve to have a well-organized and efficient trauma care system. ■ Visit www.GeorgiaItsAboutTime.com to learn more about these efforts and sign the e-petition to support the need for a statewide trauma care network. Outage. Y don’t have to be in the dark ou about keeping the lights on. For a little light reading, visit gatrans.com. The Power of Cooperation Building and maintaining high-voltage power lines and substations for Georgia’s electric cooperatives. 412113_Georgia.indd 1 FEBRUARY 200912/10/08 3:12:35 PM www.accg.org 17 http://www.GeorgiaItsAboutTime.com http://www.gatrans.com http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - February 2009

Georgia County Government - February 2009 Contents President’s Message County Matters ACCG Training Programs: A Foundation for Excellence in County Government ACCG Welcomes Newly Elected Commissioners Georgia’s Trauma System: The Emergency Management System Component Demographics Program Addresses County Planning Extension News: 4-H Camping Program Benefits Georgia Youth Research Corner: Promote Economic Development in Your Rural County County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - February 2009

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