Week in Review

State Capitol Week in Review
April 17, 2009
LITTLE ROCK – The 2009 legislative session will be remembered for the variety of expanded health care programs that were approved.
Creation of a statewide trauma system is the cornerstone of the legislature's health care package, but many other initiatives also received a boost in funding.
Home health care programs will be expanded. Their value is in helping senior citizens live independently at home, without having to stay in a nursing home or other long-term care facility.
Community Health Centers will receive additional funding. They provide primary care to about 500,000 Arkansans who don't have health insurance. The state Health Department's flu shot campaign will be expanded, so that anyone who wants a free flu shot can get one.
Funding will be increased for efforts to prevent and treat strokes, as well as breast, cervical, ovarian, prostate, colorectal and skin cancers. More adults will be eligible for free or reduced price dental care. School nurses will get additional resources. Families with children who have been diagnosed with autism will have more options for treatment. Pregnant women with drug and alcohol addictions will get help.
More children will become eligible for ARKids First. It is a Medicaid program for children whose parents have jobs that don't pay enough for them to afford private health insurance. ARKids First provides primary care for about 70,000 children. It is mostly the routine, preventative care that is essential for keeping children from developing serious, chronic illnesses later in life.
The legislature voted to add about 8,000 more children to the program through an expansion of the eligibility criteria.
Also, the legislature approved funding for a satellite campus of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in northwest Arkansas. The main campus of UAMS is in Little Rock. Expansion into northwest Arkansas allows UAMS to train more physicians to meet a shortage of medical professionals.
The statewide trauma system will save hundreds of lives each year, and will prevent thousands of severe and permanent disabilities. It will ensure that trauma victims are taken as quickly as possible to the facility where the most appropriate specialists are available. Sometimes that means the victims are not taken to the nearest hospital, but to where there is a burn specialist or a neurosurgeon on duty.
The goal is to take advantage of "the golden hour," which is how emergency medical personnel refer to the first 60 minutes after a traumatic accident. If victims receive proper diagnosis, stabilization and treatment within this first hour, their chances of survival are much better.
Health officials say 80 percent of the 637 ambulances in Arkansas have advanced life support equipment. The 5,990 emergency medical technicians in Arkansas have the necessary training. However, there are not enough of them, so creating a statewide trauma system means recruiting and training more EMTs.
Other legislation passed during the 2009 will save lives for years to come. The General Assembly approved a stricter seat belt law and voted to prohibit drivers of motor vehicles from text messaging or using their cell phone to access the Internet.