FCOT/AFTC Partner on COVID-19 Trauma Care Resolution

The Florida Committee on Trauma (FCOT) and Association of Florida Trauma Coordinators (AFTC), representing the clinical leadership and clinicians of Florida's Trauma Centers, remain steadfast in the importance of ensuring safe, quality care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida's Trauma Centers, having adopted the following resolution:

Trauma Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic Resolution 
Adopted August 26, 2020

Florida’s system of Trauma Centers and the healthcare professionals that comprise those Trauma Centers stand ready around the clock to render care and comfort to the traumatically injured patient. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health threat with significant impact in the United States and in Florida. COVID-19 carries a prolonged latency period and high percentage of asymptomatic carriers. COVID-19 is of particular concern for elderly patients, those with underlying medical conditions, and patients suffering from multisystem trauma. 

The Florida Committee on Trauma (FCOT) and the Association of Florida Trauma Coordinators (AFTC) represent the clinical leadership and clinicians of Florida’s system of Trauma Centers. The FCOT and AFTC are united in their support of efforts to ensure safe, quality care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida’s Trauma Centers. The safety of our patients and trauma care teams is paramount. 

Be it resolved that the Florida Committee on Trauma and the Association of Florida Trauma Coordinators supports the following initiatives:

1. At a minimum, all members of the trauma resuscitation and intensive care unit teams must have access to and use N-95 masks or other personal protective equipment that provides a similar or greater level of protection.
2. All Trauma Centers and sponsoring institutions should make reasonable efforts to obtain reliable and timely COVID-19 testing technology, including rapid testing systems.
3. Trauma Centers should give serious consideration to testing patients for COVID-19 on arrival and to treat all patients as presumed positive until testing were to demonstrate otherwise.
4. Trauma Centers and sponsoring institutions in Florida should make reasonable efforts to establish “clean areas” for COVID-negative patient admissions in order to minimize patient exposure.
5. All Trauma Centers should encourage compliance of healthcare staff with CDC guidelines to reduce the potential for COVID-19 exposure outside of the workplace.
6. The FCOT and the AFTC encourage all Trauma Centers to review and integrate the recommendations of the American College of Surgeons and the ACS Committee on Trauma into their patient care plans during the pandemic.  These resources can be found at
   https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/trauma/maintaining-access and https://www.facs.org/covid-19.

Click here to download the adopted Resolution.