H871 - Trauma Center Funding

• Appropriates $5,000,000 in recurring funds for fiscal year 2023-2024 and $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2024-2025 to the Office of Emergency Medical Services for allocation to trauma centers.

• Distributes funds to OEMS-designated trauma centers based on the percentage of trauma patients affiliated with each center as recorded in the North Carolina Trauma Registry.

• Restricts fund use to managing the trauma registry, quality improvement, outreach, injury prevention, program development, research, accreditation support, and staff professional development.

• Prohibits trauma centers from using allocated funds to offset costs of direct patient care services.

• Allows OEMS to retain up to 5% of allocated funds annually for administrative purposes and requires annual reporting to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services with detailed expenditure breakdowns beginning December 1, 2024.