Innercitistorm posted on February 03, 2009 18:01
At a community meeting held Tuesday night at Lindsey's Hospitality House in North Little Rock, Senator Tracy Steele informed the community of several issues before the legislature this session and listened to the concerns, ideas and needs of those present. Senator Steele, who represents Senate District 34 in mostly NLR, informed the group he would be a sponsor of the Trauma System bill in the Arkansas Senate. The Trauma System bill sets up a system across the entire state of transportation, communication and health care facilities that enable those with severe trauma to get care within the "golden hour" Studies have shown that if proper care is received within that first hour after the injury, the possibility of long term disabilities or death are greatly reduced.
The Trauma System bill covers Governors Beebe's 2009 Healthcare Initiative and is proposed to be paid for with a $0.56 tax per pack on cigarettes amd a tax on smokeless tobacco products. The taxes will raise about $85 million per year of which about $35 million will be spent on the trauma system. The balance of $50 million will be spent on other programs including
- Community health Center Support
- ARKids expansion
- Arkansas Influenza Immunization Campaign
- Hunger Coalition support
- Various medicaid programs including adult dental, breast and cervical cancer, electronic health records, and substance abuse program for children and pregnant women.
Many of these programs are matched by the Federal government with up to a 4 to 1 match. For a full list of the programs and their proposed funding levels for the next two years click here.