Bipartisan bill to improve trauma care passes House

WASHINGTON, D.C. –The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan MISSION ZERO Act introduced by Representative Richard Hudson (D-NC). The legislation will assist assigning Department of Defense trauma surgeons to civilian trauma centers, filling a gap in care observed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

“As representative of Fort Bragg—the epicenter of the universe—I understand how critical it is for our military trauma teams to maintain their unique medical skills off the battlefield,” Hudson said. “This is a commonsense bill to not only do that but to also foster a partnership between our military and civilian trauma providers and improve trauma centers across the country. It’s a win-win.”

Hudson introduced the bipartisan bill with Rep. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health; Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL); and Gene Green (D-TX).

Currently, trauma care in the United States is a patchwork of regional systems and incomplete data registries. Mortality and disability in traumatic injury can be greatly reduced through integrated, permanent joint civilian and military trauma system training platforms in order to create and sustain an expert trauma workforce between periods of active combat.

The MISSION ZERO Act would also establish grant programs for eligible trauma systems and centers to incorporate full military trauma teams or individual military trauma providers into their hospitals. This mutually beneficial partnership would allow civilians the chance to learn more about military best practices and would give military trauma care providers the opportunity to utilize their cutting-edge expertise without leaving the military.

The MISSION ZERO Act is endorsed by the American Congress of Neurological Surgeons, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Surgeons and the Trauma Center Association of America.