Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services (DHS) and the State Trauma Advisory Committee have been working since 2016 to update Wisconsin Administrative Code Chapter 118, the standards used to classify hospitals as to their emergency care capabilities when hospitals voluntarily seek for their trauma services to be certified by DHS or the American College of Surgeons.
A milestone will be reached on May 31, 2021, when the Legislative Reference Bureau publishes the updated standards which are now consistent with the most recent trauma recommendations developed by the American College of Surgeons. DHS was planning to implement the new standards on July 1, 2021, but will now delay the action due to concerns about the ability of organizations to find required training for their teams, especially advanced trauma life support (ATLS). This is a welcome adjustment for hospitals, health systems and provider groups trying to arrange training for new groups within their workforce that are now required to be ATLS certified.
While the new Chapter 118 standards will be going into effect on Oct. 1, 2021, DHS will be allowing facilities that have a review between Oct. 1 and June 30, 2021, until July of 2022 to meet the ATLS training requirement.
A document comparing the current and the revised Chapter 118, the new pre-review questionnaire and frequently asked questions can be found on the DHS trauma
website. WHA members can contact WHA Senior Vice President of Workforce and Clinical Practice
Ann Zenk with questions.