Per Virginia regulations, it is mandatory for trauma centers to be designated by the Virginia Office of EMS/Virginia Department of Health. To seek and maintain ACS (or any other trauma center verification) is purely voluntary on the part of your organization.
At the time of development of this document (November 2021), there is no application fee.
To be designated in the Commonwealth, there are no fees due to the Office of Emergency Medical Services.
Virginia utilizes a team of trauma professionals including, but not limited to, trauma surgeons, specialty trained physicians, nurses, and administrators to perform on-site evaluations of trauma centers. Virginia Office of EMS staff also accompany the team to provide administrative and regulatory guidance and support.
Currently, the Virginia Office of EMS utilizes a one-day, on-site regulatory review. Application documents are reviewed in advance and verified on-site.
Upon provisional designation (receipt of designation letter from the Commissioner of Health), trauma centers of all levels are able to charge for trauma activation fees. We encourage the facility to research the parameters associated with coding/charging of activations and other charges associated with designated trauma facilities.
This is a complicated question that requires research and planning on the part of your facility. These charges vary widely across the nation and between different levels of designation. This fee should be considered carefully based on the costs associated with maintaining around the clock readiness, regional/local charges in your area, and negotiated payments with third party payors. This fee is not prescribed in the Commonwealth at this time nor is there any guarantee of reimbursement.
All fully designated trauma centers in the Commonwealth are eligible to receive trauma grant funding.