Rural trauma and emergency medical service challenges in a sample of Western States.
State trauma system managers from the western region meet annually to identify and address health care issues, particularly those related to trauma care access and delivery. In each of these states, policy makers face a host of convergent problems: declining populations, rapid growth, low incomes, and high poverty rates. Challenges of providing emergency medical services to largely rural states include geographic barriers of vast expanses of unpopulated landmass, provision of services across mountain ranges, volcanoes, and extreme weather conditions, communication challenges due to lack of cell or radio coverage in some areas, and difficulty recruiting and retaining trained personnel.
Whitney
Jolene R
JR
Utah Department of Health, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. jrwhitney@utah.gov
Werner
Susan
S
Wilson
Susan
S
Sanddal
Nels
N
Conditt
Vicki
V
Sale
Peggy
P
Mann
Clay
C
Nemec
Jennie
J
Jones
Johnathan J
JJ
Sandeno
Grace
G
Hartford
Diane
D
D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends*; D016529:Emergency Nursing; D006801:Humans; D015205:Northwestern United States; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends*; D015206:Southwestern United States