The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Trauma care is an essential public service. It is as vital to the safety of the public as the services provided by law enforcement and fire departments. In communities with access to trauma centers, mortality and morbidity rates from traumatic injuries are significantly reduced. For the same reasons that each community in California needs timely access to the services of skilled police, paramedics, and fire personnel, each community needs access to the services provided by certified trauma centers.

(b) Trauma centers save lives by providing immediate coordination of highly specialized care for the most life-threatening injuries.

(c) Trauma centers save lives, and also save money, because access to trauma care can mean the difference between full recovery from a traumatic injury, and serious disability necessitating expensive long-term care.

(d) Trauma centers do their job most effectively as part of a system that includes a local plan with a means of immediately identifying trauma cases and transporting those patients to the nearest trauma center.

(e) It is essential for persons in need of trauma care to receive that care within the 60-minute period immediately following injury. It is during this period, referred to as the “golden hour,” when the potential for survival is greatest, and the need for treatment for shock or injury is most critical.

(f) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to promote access to trauma care by ensuring the availability of services through EMS agency-designated trauma centers.

(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 80, Sec. 1.1. Effective July 19, 2005.)