Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Office of the Revisor of Statutes

144.603 STATEWIDE TRAUMA SYSTEM CRITERIA.
    Subdivision 1. Criteria established. The commissioner shall adopt criteria to ensure that
severely injured people are promptly transported and treated at trauma hospitals appropriate to
the severity of injury. Minimum criteria shall address emergency medical service trauma triage
and transportation guidelines as approved under section 144E.101, subdivision 14, designation
of hospitals as trauma hospitals, interhospital transfers, a trauma registry, and a trauma system
governance structure.
    Subd. 2. Basis; verification. The commissioner shall base the establishment, implementation,
and modifications to the criteria under subdivision 1 on the department-published Minnesota
comprehensive statewide trauma system plan. The commissioner shall seek the advice of
the Trauma Advisory Council in implementing and updating the criteria, using accepted and
prevailing trauma transport, treatment, and referral standards of the American College of
Surgeons, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Minnesota Emergency Medical
Services Regulatory Board, the national Trauma Resources Network, and other widely recognized
trauma experts. The commissioner shall adapt and modify the standards as appropriate to
accommodate Minnesota's unique geography and the state's hospital and health professional
distribution and shall verify that the criteria are met by each hospital voluntarily participating in
the statewide trauma system.
    Subd. 3. Rule exemption and report to legislature. In developing and adopting the criteria
under this section, the commissioner of health is exempt from chapter 14, including section
14.386. By September 1, 2009, the commissioner must report to the legislature on implementation
of the voluntary trauma system, including recommendations on the need for including the trauma
system criteria in rule.
History: 1Sp2005 c 4 art 6 s 26

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes