The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) is applauding House and Senate passage of a disaster preparedness bill and is taking due credit for shepherding a little-noticed provision, which boosts military-civilian cooperation in orthopedics, through Congress.
The bill—which is not the big disaster relief funding legislation signed by President Trump on June 6—is called the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2019 (PAHPAI, S.1379). As this story is being written, it awaits Trump’s signature.
This bill “includes the AAOS-supported MISSION ZERO Act, which allows military trauma surgeons to keep up their skills in civilian trauma centers,” AAOS said. The bill supports a wide variety of preparedness efforts to deal with both natural disasters and human-caused threats to public health.
“Our military surgeons are trained for trauma and critical care situations, whether it’s saving a limb on the battlefield or providing life-saving care during a catastrophe,” said AAOS President Kristy L. Weber, M.D. “This legislation helps to ensure they’re ready, able, and willing to use their expertise in emergencies when patients need them most.”
The MISSION ZERO Act, introduced by Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), creates a $15 million/year grant program which allows military providers and trauma teams to offer trauma care and related acute care at civilian trauma centers, AAOS said in a news release.
AAOS said it worked with Rep. Burgess to introduce an earlier version of the MISSION ZERO bill in 2017 and has since worked with the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) to get it passed as part of a larger Trauma Coalition of more than two dozen professional organizations “representing frontline health care providers committed to advancing public policy that strengthens our nation’s trauma care system.”
“In making these critical policy changes today and prioritizing the readiness of disaster response teams, our physicians will be better enabled to provide the best possible care the next time a disaster strikes,” said Dr. Weber.
Under Section 204 of the bill, the Defense Department can award up to 20 grants, not to exceed $1 million each, to civilian trauma centers “to enable military trauma care providers to provide trauma care and related acute care at such trauma centers.”
