42 U.S.C. § 300d: Establishment

conduct and support research, training, evaluations, and demonstration projects; foster the development of appropriate, modern systems of such care through the sharing of information among agencies and individuals involved in the study and provision of such care; collect, compile, analyze, and disseminate information on the achievements of, and problems experienced by, State and local agencies and private entities in providing trauma care and emergency medical services and, in so doing, give special consideration to the unique needs of rural areas and medically underserved areas; provide to State and local agencies technical assistance to enhance each State’s capability to develop, implement, and sustain the trauma care component of each State’s plan for the provision of emergency medical services; and promote the collection and categorization of trauma data in a consistent and standardized manner. developing, issuing, and updating guidance, as appropriate, to support the coordinated medical triage and evacuation to appropriate medical institutions based on patient medical need, taking into account regionalized systems of care; disseminating, as appropriate, information on evidence-based or evidence-informed trauma care practices, taking into consideration emergency medical services and trauma care systems, including such practices identified through activities conducted under subsection (a) and which may include the identification and dissemination of performance metrics, as applicable and appropriate; and other activities, as appropriate, to optimize a coordinated and flexible approach to the emergency response and medical surge capacity of hospitals, other health care facilities, critical care, and emergency medical systems. The Secretary may make grants, and enter into cooperative agreements and contracts, for the purpose of carrying out subsection (a). the Federal Government and the governments of the States have established a history of cooperation in the development, implementation, and monitoring of integrated, comprehensive systems for the provision of emergency medical services throughout the United States; physical trauma is the leading cause of death of Americans between the ages of 1 and 44 and is the third leading cause of death in the general population of the United States; physical trauma in the United States results in an aggregate annual cost of $180,000,000,000 in medical expenses, insurance, lost wages, and property damage; barriers to the provision of prompt and appropriate emergency medical services exist in many areas of the United States; few States and communities have developed and implemented trauma care systems; many trauma centers have incurred substantial uncompensated costs in providing trauma care, and such costs have caused many such centers to cease participation in trauma care systems; and the number of incidents of physical trauma in the United States is a serious medical and social problem, and the number of deaths resulting from such incidents can be substantially reduced by improving the trauma-care components of the systems for the provision of emergency medical services in the United States.”