Funding should be available in 2002 to help reimburse the Regional Medical Center in Memphis for care for Mississippi trauma patients, said state Sen. Bunky Huggins of Greenwood.
Huggins and three other state senators toured the medical center this week to discussed funding for the hospital's care of Mississippi patients.
Huggins is chairman of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee. Also making the trip were Sens. Jack Gordon, D-Okolona, of the Appropriations Committee; William Minor, D-Holly Springs, of the Finance Committee; and Nolan Mettetal, D-Sardis, of the Business and Financial Institutions Committee. They met with members of the hospital's board of directors.
Funds from Mississippi's settlements with tobacco companies were used to set up a system for trauma patients so they can receive the best care as soon as possible.
However, the Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Regional Center, which is affiliated with the medical center, is not eligible for reimbursement under that network. The network includes only centers in Mississippi, because some have expressed concern that including out-of-state facilities would deplete the fund.
The Memphis hospital and trauma facility serve many Mississippi patients who can't pay, Huggins said. They also provide helicopter service for many of those patients, especially from the Delta.
Hospital officials said they weren't sure how long they could afford to continue these services, especially for trauma cases, the senator said.
The meetings were productive, and each side was receptive to the concerns of the other, Huggins said.
The hospital should be able to secure some of the trauma funding next July, he said.
The Memphis hospital serves more patients from North Mississippi than any hospital in Mississippi, and legislators want to maintain a high level of care for Mississippians, he said.
Another problem for the Memphis hospital is that some trauma patients are being sent there when they could receive needed care at a closer facility in Greenwood, Greenville or Tupelo.
Getting to a closer hospital 10 minutes earlier might save a patient's life, Huggins said.
