South Carolina Code 44-61-520. Trauma care standards and regulations; revocation of designation; fines
(B) In developing this system, the department shall take into consideration current recognized national standards for trauma care systems including, but not limited to, standards for trauma care cited in "Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient" adopted by the American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Trauma and the guidelines for trauma care systems adopted by the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 44-61-520
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Department: means the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. See South Carolina Code 44-61-510
- Designation: means a formal determination by the department that a hospital or health care facility is capable of providing a specified level of trauma care services. See South Carolina Code 44-61-510
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Participating providers: means those providers that have been approved by the department for participation in the trauma system and include, but are not limited to, designated trauma centers, designated rehabilitation facilities, and designated fee for service physicians who provide trauma care within a designated facility. See South Carolina Code 44-61-510
- Trauma: means a major injury or wound to a living person caused by the application of an external force or by violence and the requiring immediate medical or surgical intervention to prevent death or permanent disability. See South Carolina Code 44-61-510
- trauma center: means a hospital that has been designated by the department according to the rules and regulations set forth by the department to provide trauma care services at a particular level. See South Carolina Code 44-61-510
- Trauma system: means an organized statewide and regional system of care for the trauma patient, including the department, emergency medical service providers, hospitals, in-patient rehabilitation providers, and other providers who have agreed to participate in and coordinate with and who have been accepted by the department in an organized statewide system. See South Carolina Code 44-61-510
(C) All authority and responsibility for the Trauma Care System is vested in the department and the department may:
(1) establish minimum standards for levels of designation as a trauma center, consistent with this article, through regulations promulgated by the department;
(2) require facilities applying for trauma center designation or other participation in the Trauma Care System to submit an application in a manner and form prescribed by the department;
(3) conduct on-site inspections and reviews of facilities seeking designation or participation in the Trauma Care System. As part of this process, the department may review or request records and other information it considers reasonably necessary to determine a facility’s ability to comply with the minimum trauma care standards set by the department for a particular level or type of designation;
(4) when appropriate, designate applicant hospitals as trauma centers, which are authorized to provide a level of trauma care based on criteria established pursuant to this article;
(5) periodically verify, or inspect, or both, designated trauma centers and other participating providers to assure compliance with the provisions of this article and regulations promulgated pursuant to this article. Information received by the department through filed reports, inspections, or as otherwise authorized under this article must not be disclosed publicly in such a manner as to identify individuals or hospitals or other participating providers except in proceedings involving the denial, change, or revocation of a trauma center designation or type, the imposition of a fine, or the determination that a provider is no longer eligible to participate in the Trauma Care System;
(6) promote access to quality trauma care by encouraging facilities in all areas of the State to participate in the trauma system and to attempt to meet the minimum standards as established by the department pursuant to this article;
(7) oversee a continuing quality improvement system for the statewide Trauma Care System.
(D) Within one year of the effective date of regulations promulgated pursuant to this article, a trauma center designated prior to the effective date of this article, which wishes to remain a designated trauma center, must comply with the provisions of this article and submit an application and obtain approval by the department to maintain its status as a designated trauma center.
(E)(1) The department may immediately revoke or change a trauma center’s designation if the trauma center fails to meet prescribed requirements for designation at a particular level or no longer meets established standards and criteria.
(2) The department may immediately determine that a participating facility or provider is no longer eligible for participation in the trauma system and remove that provider from the system or impose a fine, or both, if the facility or provider no longer meets established standards and criteria.
(F) The department may fine any provider or facility that displays an inaccurate trauma center designation or holds itself out to be a designated trauma care center or participating trauma care system provider without first obtaining the department’s approval and meeting established criteria for participation or designation or provides false information to the department or otherwise violates the conditions of this article or regulations promulgated pursuant to this article. The department may also levy fines on any licensed emergency medical service provider found out of compliance with this or other related emergency medical service statutes or regulations. Maximum and minimum fine limits must be established in regulation.
(G) The Trauma Care Fund, established pursuant to § 44-61-540, may retain fines collected pursuant to this article up to an amount of twenty-five thousand dollars per fiscal year. Amounts collected in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars per fiscal year must be deposited into the general fund of the State.
(H) An appeal of a department decision involving an application, the revocation or changing of a designation, or a decision involving fines imposed under this article are governed by the Administrative Procedures Act.