South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL › Subchapter 61-116 - SOUTH CAROLINA TRAUMA CARE SYSTEMS › Sec2 61-116.100 - DEFINITIONS

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
A. Bypass. A
			 medical protocol or request for the transport of an EMS patient past a normally
			 used EMS receiving facility to an alternate medical facility for the purpose of
			 accessing more readily available or appropriate medical care.
B. Certificate. A document issued by the
			 Department to a hospital that denotes the trauma designation level thereof, as
			 determined by the Department subject to the provisions of this
			 regulation.
C. Certificate Holder.
			 The hospital that has received a certificate to provide trauma care from the
			 Department and with whom rests the ultimate responsibility for compliance with
			 this regulation.
D. Department. The
			 South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).
E. Designation. The formal determination by
			 the Department that a hospital is capable of providing a specified level of
			 trauma care services.
F. Emergency
			 Department. The area of a licensed general acute care hospital that customarily
			 receives patients in need of emergency medical evaluation and/or
			 care.
G. Emergency Medical Services
			 (EMS). The treatment and transport of patients in crisis health situations,
			 occurring from a medical emergency or from an accident, natural disaster, or
			 similar situation, that may be life threatening, through a system of
			 coordinated response and emergency medical care.
H. Emergency Medical Services Advisory
			 Council. Emergency Medical Services council created pursuant to S.C. Code
			 Section
			 44-61-30(C).
I. Facility. A trauma center having a
			 certificate of designation by the Department.
J. Field Triage. Classification of patients
			 according to medical need at the scene of an injury or onset of an
			 illness.
K. Glasgow Coma Scale. A
			 standardized system for assessing response to stimuli in a neurologically
			 impaired patient by assessing eye opening, verbal responsiveness, and motor
			 ability.
L. Hospital. A facility
			 licensed by the Department and organized and administered to provide medical or
			 surgical care or nursing care of illness, injury, or infirmity and in which all
			 diagnoses, treatment, or care is administered by or under the direction of
			 persons currently licensed to practice medicine, surgery, or
			 osteopathy.
M. Injury. The result
			 of an act that damages, harms, or hurts; unintentional or intentional damage to
			 the body resulting from acute exposure to thermal, mechanical, electrical or
			 chemical energy or from the absence of such essentials as heat or
			 oxygen.
N. Injury Prevention.
			 Efforts to reduce or prevent incidents that might result in injuries.
O. Level I. Hospitals that have met the
			 requirements for Level I as stated in Section 204 of this regulation and are
			 designated by the Department.
P.
			 Level I Pediatric. Hospitals that have met the Level I criteria along with the
			 required pediatric criteria, and are designated as "Level I Pediatric" by the
			 Department.
Q. Level II. Hospitals
			 that have met the requirements for Level II as stated in Section 204 of this
			 regulation and are designated by the Department.
R. Level II Pediatric. Hospitals that have
			 met the Level II criteria along with the required pediatric criteria, and are
			 designated as "Level II Pediatric" by the Department.
S. Level III. Hospitals that have met the
			 requirements for Level III as stated in Section 204 of this regulation and are
			 designated as "Level III" by the Department.
T. Level IV. Hospitals that have met the
			 requirements for Level IV and are designated as "Level IV" by the
			 Department.
U. Licensed Nurse. An
			 individual licensed by the South Carolina Board of Nursing as a registered
			 nurse or licensed practical nurse.
V. Medical Control. On-line or off-line
			 physician direction over pre-hospital activities to ensure efficient and
			 proficient trauma triage, transportation, and care, as well as ongoing quality
			 assurance.
W. Participating
			 Providers. Those providers who 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.
X. Performance
			 Improvement (PI) Programs. A method of monitoring, evaluating and improving
			 processes of patient care that emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach to
			 problem solving. These activities are concordant with the Institute of
			 Medicines six (6) quality aims for patient care: safe, effective,
			 patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable. (ACS P.114).
Y. Physician. An individual currently
			 licensed as such by the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners.
Z. Rehabilitation. Services that seek to
			 return a trauma patient to the fullest physical, psychological, social,
			 vocational, and educational level of functioning of which he or she is capable,
			 consistent with physiological or anatomical impairments and environmental
			 limitations.
AA. Repeat Violation.
			 The recurrence of any violation cited under the same section of the
			 regulation.
BB. Revocation of
			 Certificate and Designation. An action by the Department to cancel or annul a
			 certificate and designation by recalling, withdrawing, or rescinding its
			 authority to operate.
CC. South
			 Carolina Trauma Plan. An organized plan developed by the Department pursuant to
			 legislative directive that sets out a comprehensive system of prevention,
			 management, and rehabilitation of traumatic injuries.
DD. State Medical Director (or "State Medical
			 Control Physician"). A South Carolina board-certified physician responsible for
			 providing medical oversight to the Department.
EE. State Trauma Advisory Council (or "TAC").
			 The Department's advisory committee regarding trauma related issues.
FF. State Trauma Registry. A statewide
			 database of information collected by the Department including, but not limited
			 to, the incidence, severity, and causes of trauma and the care and
			 outcomes.
GG. Suspension of
			 Certificate and Designation. An action by the Department terminating the
			 certificate holder's authority to provide trauma care services for a period of
			 time until such time as the Department rescinds that restriction.
HH. Traumatic Injury. Injury or wound to a
			 person caused by the application of an external force or by violence and
			 requiring medical or surgical intervention to prevent death or disability. For
			 the purposes of this regulation, the definition of "trauma" shall be determined
			 by current national medical standards including, but not limited to, injury
			 severity scales.
II. Trauma Care
			 Facility (or "trauma center"). A hospital designated by the Department to
			 provide trauma care services at a particular level.
JJ. Trauma Care Region. A geographic area of
			 the state formally organized in accordance with standards promulgated by the
			 Department and is coterminous with the Department EMS regions.
KK. Trauma Care System. 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.
LL.
			 Trauma Patient. A patient who presents with acute bodily injuries secondary to
			 an external force requiring immediate intervention deemed necessary to preserve
			 life and limb.
MM. Trauma Program.
			 An administrative unit that includes the trauma service and coordinates other
			 trauma-related activities, including, but not limited to, injury prevention and
			 public education.
NN. Trauma
			 Program Manager. A designated individual with responsibility for coordination
			 of all activities of the trauma program who works in collaboration with the
			 trauma medical director.
OO. Trauma
			 Medical Director. A physician designated by the facility and medical staff to
			 coordinate trauma care.
PP. Trauma
			 System Fund. The separate fund established pursuant to this regulation for the
			 Department to create and administer the State Trauma System.
QQ. Trauma Team. A group of health care
			 professionals organized to provide coordinated and timely care to the trauma
			 patient.
RR. Triage. The process of
			 sorting injured patients on the basis of the actual or perceived degree of
			 injury and assigning them to the most effective and efficient regional care
			 resources in order to insure optimal care and the best chance of
			 survival.
SS. Verification. The
			 inspection of a participating facility in order to determine whether the
			 facility is capable of providing a designated level of trauma care.