Nevada’s aging population continues to grow and the state’s ability to meet their needs is even more important.  In fact, Nevada has one of the fastest growing senior populations in the country.  In 2014, according to the state’s Commission on Aging, 13% of the state’s population were people over the age of 65, and the largest growth came from the age group of those over the age of 85.  Couple that with the tens of millions of visitors who visit the state yearly, the public health policies considered must factor all of these variables to best serve the state’s residents.

Trauma injuries can happen to anyone at any time.  Traumatic injuries such as those caused by a serious automobile accident, a violent assault, or a fall are the leading cause of death for people ages 1-44.  Moreover, one third of all adults age 65 and older will fall each year, often causing traumatic injury. In fact, falls are the number one cause of trauma admissions and death for this age group.

Trauma experts agree that trauma patients should receive care from trauma medical professionals who are specially trained to treat these injuries within the first 60 minutes of injury or less.  It is well know that trauma patients treated at a trauma facility are 25 percent more likely to survive than if they were treated in a standard emergency room.

As an organization that advocates for free-market solutions to senior issues, we believe our health care system serves seniors best when the free market is allowed to work — increasing choice and access that drive down costs. Trauma care is no different.

Increasing local access to trauma care for those in life and death situations should be a common goal for our public policy makers.   However, opposition to the recent Clark County trauma applications by the Regional Trauma Advisory Board not only ignores the reality of the state’s population growth, but protects taxpayer subsidized hospitals that want to prevent competition in the marketplace.

Study after study has shown that local access to trauma care saves lives.  Unfortunately, the current system is inadequate and fails to meet the existing and growing demands of incidences of traumatic injuries in  the Northwest and Southwest regions of the Valley. As the Southern Nevada Health District considers the future of trauma care in Clark County, the board must consider the projected growth in trauma patients, together  with the growth of the state’s population size, daily visitors and traffic congestion to ensure access to quality trauma care is provided to those who need it when they are most vulnerable.

Anti-competitive forces have had their way with our health care system for far too long. Clark County has an opportunity to attract bold and forward-thinking strategies for a better run and more efficient trauma system that will lead to access to local care and hopefully better outcomes for trauma patients and their families.  We urge the SNHD to vote to approve the trauma applications to help more Nevadans and our visitors have access to lifesaving trauma care.