Ohio Trauma Registry Suffering from Lack of Funds and Staff

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Officials complain they don’t have the money or the staff to do anything with information collected by a registry that tracks Ohio trauma patients.

Lawmakers set up the database 11 years ago in hopes of learning more about trauma care in the state. But state trauma coordinator Tim Erskine says they underestimated the demands.

The number of records going into the registry has grown from 24,000 a year to 40,000. Meanwhile, the number of state employees devoted to the program has been cut from three to two.

MedFlight of Ohio director Dr. Howard Werman says the registry is too squeezed to come up with statistics such as the percentage of injured patients who wind up in trauma care.

One leading lawmaker is expressing a willingness to find more funding.

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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com