(1) “Agency” means the Agency for Health Care Administration.

(2) “Charity care” or “uncompensated trauma care” means that portion of hospital charges reported to the agency for which there is no compensation, other than restricted or unrestricted revenues provided to a hospital by local governments or tax districts regardless of method of payment, for care provided to a patient whose family income for the 12 months preceding the determination is less than or equal to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, unless the amount of hospital charges due from the patient exceeds 25 percent of the annual family income. However, in no case shall the hospital charges for a patient whose family income exceeds four times the federal poverty level for a family of four be considered charity.

(3) “Department” means the Department of Health.

1(4) “High-risk patient” means a trauma patient with an International Classification Injury Severity Score of less than 0.85.

(5) “Interfacility trauma transfer” means the transfer of a trauma victim between two facilities licensed under this chapter, pursuant to this part.

(6) “International Classification Injury Severity Score” means the statistical method for computing the severity of injuries sustained by trauma patients. The International Classification Injury Severity Score shall be the methodology used by the department and trauma centers to report the severity of an injury.

(7) “Level I trauma center” means a trauma center that:

(a) Has formal research and education programs for the enhancement of trauma care; is verified by the department to be in substantial compliance with Level I trauma center and pediatric trauma center standards; and has been approved by the department to operate as a Level I trauma center.

(b) Serves as a resource facility to Level II trauma centers, pediatric trauma centers, and general hospitals through shared outreach, education, and quality improvement activities.

(c) Participates in an inclusive system of trauma care, including providing leadership, system evaluation, and quality improvement activities.

(8) “Level II trauma center” means a trauma center that:

1(a) Is verified by the department to be in substantial compliance with Level II trauma center standards and has been approved by the department to operate as a Level II trauma center or is designated pursuant to s. 395.4025(15).

(b) Serves as a resource facility to general hospitals through shared outreach, education, and quality improvement activities.

(c) Participates in an inclusive system of trauma care.

(9) “Local funding contribution” means local municipal, county, or tax district funding exclusive of any patient-specific funds received pursuant to ss. 154.301-154.316, private foundation funding, or public or private grant funding of at least $150,000 received by a hospital or health care system that operates a trauma center.

(10) “Pediatric trauma center” means a hospital that is verified by the department to be in substantial compliance with pediatric trauma center standards as established by rule of the department and has been approved by the department to operate as a pediatric trauma center.

(11) “Provisional trauma center” means a hospital that has been verified by the department to be in substantial compliance with the requirements in s. 395.4025 and has been approved by the department to operate as a provisional Level I trauma center, Level II trauma center, or pediatric trauma center.

(12) “Trauma agency” means a department-approved agency established and operated by one or more counties, or a department-approved entity with which one or more counties contract, for the purpose of administering an inclusive regional trauma system.

(13) “Trauma alert victim” means a person who has incurred a single or multisystem injury due to blunt or penetrating means or burns, who requires immediate medical intervention or treatment, and who meets one or more of the adult or pediatric scorecard criteria established by the department by rule.

1(14) “Trauma caseload volume” means the number of trauma patients calculated by the department using the data reported by each designated trauma center to the hospital discharge database maintained by the agency pursuant to s. 408.061.

1(15) “Trauma center” means a hospital that has been verified by the department to be in substantial compliance with the requirements in s. 395.4025 and has been approved by the department to operate as a Level I trauma center, Level II trauma center, or pediatric trauma center, or is designated by the department as a Level II trauma center pursuant to s. 395.4025(15).

(16) “Trauma patient” means a person who has incurred a physical injury or wound caused by trauma and has accessed a trauma center.

(17) “Trauma scorecard” means a statewide methodology adopted by the department by rule under which a person who has incurred a traumatic injury is graded as to the severity of his or her injuries or illness and which methodology is used as the basis for making destination decisions.

(18) “Trauma transport protocol” means a document which describes the policies, processes, and procedures governing the dispatch of vehicles, the triage, prehospital transport, and interfacility trauma transfer of trauma victims.

(19) “Trauma victim” means any person who has incurred a single or multisystem injury due to blunt or penetrating means or burns and who requires immediate medical intervention or treatment.

History.—s. 1, ch. 2000-189; s. 3, ch. 2004-259; s. 58, ch. 2005-2; s. 14, ch. 2006-192; s. 1, ch. 2013-153; s. 4, ch. 2018-66.

1Note.—Section 14, ch. 2018-66, provides that “[i]f the provisions of this act relating to s. 395.4025(16), Florida Statutes, are held to be invalid or inoperative for any reason, the remaining provisions of this act shall be deemed to be void and of no effect, it being the legislative intent that this act as a whole would not have been adopted had any provision of the act not been included.”