Senate OKs trauma center bill after impassioned debate February 5, 2026 Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, speaks Thursday on Senate Bill 12 on the Senate floor. SB 12 relates to medical provider coverage in Level IV trauma centersA high-resolution photo can be found here. FRANKFORT — A bill that would allow more Kentucky hospitals to be designated as Level IV trauma centers received approval in the Senate on Thursday following impassioned debate on the chamber floor. Bill sponsor Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, said Level IV is the lowest designation of trauma center in Kentucky. The state passed legislation in 2008 to establish a statewide trauma network but never appropriated funding, he said. Senate Bill 12 is seeking to ease some of the legal standards to help grow the network, particularly in rural areas that are struggling with gaps in health care, Meredith said. National standards from the American College of Surgeons allow trauma centers to operate with a mid-level practitioner under the supervision of a physician, but Kentucky’s law does not make that distinction, he said. SB 12 would allow Kentucky Level IV trauma centers to operate if either a physician or an advanced practice provider is supervised by an on- or off-site physician at all times. Meredith said the legislation would align Kentucky with the national standards while providing clear oversight, approved processes and approved coordination that ultimately supports patient care and more efficient transfers. “We’re 45th nationally in trauma-related deaths and a good measure because of a lack of those resources,” he said. “We need to build that network. I’m not here to ask for an appropriation today. I’m asking for relaxing some standards to expand our network.” Meredith read a letter from the chief executive officer of the Crittenden Community Hospital, who wrote that many Kentucky hospitals provide the same level of care as a Level IV trauma center, but do not qualify as a Level IV due to staffing. The bill drew debate on the Senate floor as supporters argued that the changes are needed to boost health care in rural Kentucky. Opponents raised concerns about the lack of an on-site physician. One critic was Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, who said that, as a physician who has worked in trauma at the University of Louisville for several years, she has concerns about lowering standards. “Unfortunately, this part about having non-physicians in Level IV trauma centers is for me and for the trauma network that I have worked my entire life in, unacceptable,” she said. “It is unacceptable because time is life. And to transport a patient to a facility where you know you do not have a medical doctor to respond is a waste of time.” Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville, who is also a physician, voted against the measure. He said doctors are concerned generally about the lowering of standards in health care and that even though some health care workers can perform some of the duties of a doctor, that doesn’t make them equal. “Medical doctors and all specialties, this might be news for you all, but they’re feeling disrespected. And they’re feeling devalued,” he said. “We let other people creep closer and closer to having the privileges that we worked so many hours to have, that we took so many tests to have.” However, Sen. Scott Madon, R-Pineville, recalled how a local hospital in his district was facing bankruptcy and all of the doctors left to work in rural health clinics. He said he supports SB 12 because it’s a tool for his community to keep the hospital open. “They’re not asking for a hand out, they want a hand up. They want a way to keep their hospital open,” he said. Sen. Gex Williams, R-Verona, said he enthusiastically supports the bill. “I hope that as we get these physician assistants out into our rural communities, that they can tell their families about the Kentucky lives they saved, about the Kentucky injuries that they have kept and not some neighboring state,” he said. “We need this bill passed and we need it passed as soon as possible so that we can get our Kentuckians the kind of rural health care that every state around us has.” Meredith said the bill isn’t the ultimate solution, but emergency room doctors and primary care doctors aren’t coming to Kentucky. “To ask us just to wait for health care or drive up the road, that’s unreasonable. It’s not fair. It’s terribly unfair,” he said. “And that’s all we’re asking is let these hospitals have some additional resources so they can lift themselves up to be the best that they can be. That’s all this amounts to. It’s not replacing doctors.” The bill cleared the Senate on a 27-11 vote and now heads to the House for consideration. The post Senate OKs trauma center bill after impassioned debate appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less