Trauma Center Feasibility Assessment

Trauma centers are expensive and complex. They involve nearly every specialty and department in the hospital, require immediate availability from medical staff, and routinely serve the uninsured and underinsured. So when a hospital is considering adding a trauma program, it is imperative to conduct a through feasibility analysis and create a comprehensive implementation plan.

Who Is This Service For?

If your hospital is considering a brand new trauma program, Diligent Consulting can help you build collaboration, conduct a gap analysis for the required state and American College of Surgeons (ACS) standards, estimate costs and revenue, project trauma center volume, and provide a plan and timeline for building the new program.

If your hospital is considering increasing or decreasing the level of trauma program operations, we can help, too. Changing level can have a major impact on hospital finances, staffing, and infrastructure, as well as staff morale. After thorough analysis, we can recommend whether a change of level is advisable and then provide a plan and timeline for making the change.

What Is Included in Trauma Center Feasibility Assessment Consulting Services?

Consulting services for trauma center feasibility assessments are focused on establishing the efficacy of adding a new trauma program or changing the level of an existing program. These services typically include:

Gap Analysis

Consultants will evaluate the current state of trauma care within the hospital against the state or American College of Surgeon (ACS) verification standards. This involves gap analyses, medical staff assessment, estimating the projected staffing and training needs, and inventorying existing guidelines and policies. The goal is to identify gaps and create a road map for what comes next.

Market Study

Hospitals interested in adding a trauma program must ensure that the volume and market share is available to support the program. A market analysis will define a trauma service area for your hospital and assess where trauma patients from your area are currently being transported. Using assumptions about field triage and EMS transport patterns, we can then provide a conservative projection of the potential trauma volume for your hospital. We do this with an eye towards the stability of the existing trauma system and a mindfulness that a new trauma center or elevated trauma program should enhance the system, not undermine other trauma centers.

Stakeholder Support

A trauma center can be an asset to your hospital and your community, but it is essential to engagement stakeholders early to ensure their questions are answered and their voices are heard. This often includes medical staff leadership, local EMS and trauma system leadership, and representatives from your strategy and business development team. However, if the feasibility assessment is exploratory and the hospital is uncertain if it will pursue trauma center development, we can contain this effort to a small group of stakeholders and keep the assessment confidential.

Recommendations

We present several recommendations to your leadership team, including the benefits and challenges of different scenarios. We also provide an initial timeline and implementation plan to consider when deciding if your hospital will take steps to add or elevate the trauma program.

Our Trauma Consulting Process

Understanding the typical steps involved in trauma center feasibility assessment clarifies how consulting services add value:

Assess your trauma service area to estimate EMS transports and potential trauma center patient volume.
Conduct a gap analysis of state and ACS standards to determine gaps in infrastructure, staffing, policies, and commitment.
Project financial performance to estimate costs, revenue, and financial sustainability of a trauma program.
Present options for trauma level, designation pathways, and timing so hospital administrators can make informed decisions.
Engage stakeholders and recommend strategies for addressing pushback from nearby trauma centers, state or regional governing bodies, and hospital staff.
Create a preliminary hospital implementation plan and timeline so the hospital knows what to expect and how long the process typically takes.

What Are Some of the Greatest Challenges in Trauma Center Feasibility Assessments?

Trauma center feasibility assessments are frequently conducted with a small group of stakeholders until a decision is made to proceed. Some of the most common challenges include:

Access to Data

Current trauma centers are unlikely to share their trauma data and the injury locations of their patients, so we utilize a variety of datasets and methodologies to provide a best estimate of expected trauma volumes.

Conservative Estimates

It is impossible to fully predict any trauma center's annual volume, including the potential volume of a new trauma center. We try to provide accurate yet conservative estimates of trauma admissions to ensure the hospital would exceed a minimum threshold that could support the trauma program.

Turning an Idea Into Reality

It is one thing to talk about adding a new trauma program or changing levels; it is an entirely different endeavor to do it! This is particularly challenging for Level III trauma centers moving to Level II; they will need to implement change and act as a Level II trauma center for 12+ months before they can gain provisional designation.

How Can Diligent Consulting Help?

Organizations that invest in expert consulting will have a clear idea of whether it is possible to add a trauma program to their hospital, an accurate inventory of gaps that must be addressed, and what additional benefit the hospital will see in terms of new revenue and new patients.