Emergency Medical Services. Considerations for 'Toward Zero Deaths: A National Strategy on Highway Safety'. White Paper No. 7

摘要

Injury resulting from motor vehicle collisions is the leading cause of death for US citizens age 1 through 34. This includes victims who were the driver or occupant of a motor vehicle or struck by a motor vehicle. Trauma to motor vehicle occupants during crashes is the fourth leading cause of non fatal injuries treated in emergency departments (ED) nationally, with annual ED visits totaling over 2.6 million patients. Unpublished reviews of death certificates indicate that less than half of all fatal crash victims die at the scene; those who die later are potentially preventable. Until zero crashes is a reality on the nation's roadways, effective emergency medical services and trauma care remain the only mechanism to approach zero deaths. Since congressional enactment of the Highway Safety Act of 1966 and the approval of the Highway Safety Guideline on 'Emergency Medical Services,' the US Department of Transportation (US DOT) has vigorously pursued the implementation of a comprehensive Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system nationwide. The leadership for this effort is housed in the Office of EMS under Traffic Injury Control in NHTSA. The objectives of the NHTSA Office of EMS have been to reduce mortality and morbidity among the sick and injured through the promotion of standards enabling effective 9-1-1 systems, well educated and prepared EMS systems, the provision of medical interventions and care at the scene of trauma and medical emergencies, transportation of patients to definitive care at hospitals, interfacility transfers to specialty care facilities such as trauma centers and rehabilitation of survivors of trauma to return them to as productive a life as possible.