Health Agency Report

Agency Report Introduction

            Following an annual assessment of Indiana’s trauma care and response system by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the Indiana Trauma Care Commission (TCC) was founded to coordinate the State’s agenda and direction with regard to trauma care. That assessment – the ACS Trauma System Consultation (ACS-TSC) report 2023 – provided guidelines that informed the TCC’s Trauma System Plan (TSP).  Information and recommendations provided in the TSP 2023 served to construct this ultimate report, published by the Department of Health (IDOH) in November 2024. The IDOH’s report considers existing infrastructure and strategies of development for addressing the prevalence of injury as a leading cause of death in the State of Indiana.

Report Summary 

            The report considers the measures, recommendations and progress set out by the State’s TCC in the implementation of the TSP. Recognizing the work already done by the TCC constitutes a large segment of the report: necessary informational foundations that the report later builds on. Prior successes of the TCC include a $5.26M grant for the development of services by trauma system stakeholders, which has funded eleven trauma system development projects, at the time of report publication (IDOH, 2024, p. 5).

            The report also presented data on the existing level of trauma response care and relevant healthcare facilities. Of the 26 total trauma centers in Indiana, there are 21 verified adult trauma centers and 5 verified pediatric centers, including 5 total level one trauma centers: the most advanced, comprehensive facilities capable of handling the most complex and severe trauma cases (ACS, n.d.). Existing facilities and infrastructure are designed to manage patient flows and provide accessible care for Hoosiers across the state, although the inception of the TCC as a branch of the IDOH recognizes the need for ever-improving care and the amelioration of health outcomes for injury patients.

            The TCC comprises a number of subcommittees including but not limited to Trauma Education and Outreach, Trauma Performance Improvement and Disaster Preparedness and Military Integration (IDOH, 2024, p.9) . Each subcommittee was assigned a TCC as its chair and sought to meet frequently throughout 2024 to continue to monitor progress and make amendments to strategy in alignment with the IDOH’s agenda for trauma care (IDOH, 2024, p.8). 

            The subcommittees are collectively responsible for deploying and achieving six key areas of strategy outlined by the TSP (IDOH, 2024, p.11). These six strategies are fundamental in putting the TCC’s plan into motion and delivering improved health outcomes for injury patients. The first strategy, “Comprehensive Engagement”, seeks to bring in stakeholders to strengthen the statewide trauma system and create a network of memberships focused on supporting the TSP. The second strategy entitled “accountability”, fixates upon the activity of these stakeholders in the production of agreements and legislation in alignment with the TCC’s agenda for trauma care. Strategy number three, “Trauma Care Access” looks to build upon the twenty-six current trauma centers and reduce geographical barriers to trauma care for individuals around the state of Indiana. The fourth strategy aims to streamline the prehospital protocols of the Indiana healthcare system, particularly the efficiency and effectiveness of the EMS system. This strategy is titled “Emergency Medical Services (Prehospital). The penultimate strategy, entitled “Data & Performance Improvement” relies on the Trauma Registry subcommittee to improve the quality and quantity of data available to inform decision-making by the TCC. The sixth and final strategy “Prevention, Education & Outreach” recognizes the ever-evolving state of affairs and looks to future stakeholders and medical professionals to sustainably address trauma injury prevalence (IDOH, 2024, pp.11-12).

            Having presented the TSP’s areas of strategy, the report outlines four of the eleven ongoing projects overseen by the TCC with the assistance of IDOH. These projects are funded by the $5.26M awarded by the TCC to achieve targets consistent with the TSP. The report details in great depth the targeted region of Indiana, the project’s goals, relevant stakeholders/partners and the invested funding for each project (IDOH, 2024, pp. 13-16).

Learned Information

            The TCC’s 2024 annual report provided novel insight to me regarding the state-level of legislation and policy implementation aimed at preventing injury and improving the health outcomes for patients of injury. As a NCAA D1 soccer player, I am well acquainted with the EMS, ER and trauma care systems in Indiana and South Carolina, following a string of serious injuries. However, I was previously unaware of the extent of strategy and measures in place to streamline the process for those who suffer a trauma injury. Upon reflection of the quantitative statistics concerning trauma volume and deaths, the need for an advanced and ever-developing trauma care commission is increasingly obvious, with injury being the “leading cause of death for Hoosiers ages 1 to 44” (IDOH, 2024, p.1&7). Similarly, the extent of the TPS, relevant subcommittees, the six strategy areas they seek to achieve and the twelve essential trauma system elements outlined by the report were all completely new information to me at the time of reading but are irrefutably consistent with the need for amelioration of this department of health care.

Policy Perspectives and Closing Statement 

            The report gave me a new perspective on how trauma care should be approached and considered by relevant governing bodies. Typically, injuries are considered as random accidents that were handled one case at a time, mostly in emergency rooms (IDOH, 2024, p. 4). In reality, injury trauma is a major public health issue that requires a coordinated system of prevention and response to manage it effectively. Particularly striking was the notion that Indiana is working to build a statewide trauma system that connects hospitals, EMS, and other stakeholders through planning, data sharing, and prevention efforts. The creation of the TPS and various subcommittees—like Trauma Education and Outreach or Data & Performance Improvement—exhibit the depth of consideration and structure goes into improving care and saving lives impacted by the disease “injury” (IDOH, 2024, pp. 4–8). My perspective has undoubtedly shifted from purely reacting to injuries, to taking greater measures to prevent them and ensuring everyone in Indiana has access to quality trauma care. It has become apparent to me that trauma care is just as much about systems and relevant preventative policy as it is about reactionary medical treatment in an emergency room or trauma response center.

            As comprehensive as the report is, it may have benefitted from the inclusion of persuasive data that exhibit desirable patient outcomes as a result from receiving care in new or improved trauma care facilities. There is a plethora of information and statistics regarding trauma incidents and prevalence rates, but a lack of outcome-based data. Including this kind of data would demonstrate the effectiveness of the improved trauma system and facilities which have received project investment. It would also give a more direct insight into the direct impact the system has on the lives of Hoosiers, advocating for increased and continued investment.

References

Indiana Department of Health. Indiana Trauma Care Commission - 05/03/2024 - State of Indiana, Nov. 2024, events.in.gov/event/indiana-trauma-care-commission-05032024. 

Trauma Center Levels Explained - American Trauma Society, www.amtrauma.org/page/traumalevels. Accessed 28 May 2025.