Please encourage your friends and family (if they haven't already) to sign up
on-line and demonstrate their support. Each and every signature is important.
Keep checking this website for updates and any news regarding the decision
on adding a trauma center in Okaloosa County.
Why Bring a Trauma Center to the Fort Walton Beach Area?
Quite simply, it’s a matter of life or death.
A trauma patient's chances of survival increases when care is received within the "Golden Hour" - the first 60 minutes immediately following an injury. Currently there is no trauma center in Okaloosa or Walton Counties. The majority of residents of those counties are well over an hour from the nearest trauma center.
How can you help?
We are asking you to contact Governor Charlie Crist to ask for his help in bringing an additional trauma center to our area. Governor Crist and the Florida Department of Health must make a change in their current rules to allow the Panhandle to open a new trauma center.
Please call, e-mail or send a letter to Governor Crist TODAY to let him know that this issue is a matter of life or death!
| Phone: |
(850) 488-4441 |
| E-mail: |
Charlie.Crist@myflorida.com |
| Address: |
Office of Governor Charlie Crist
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001 |
A draft letter is provided below as an example, but you are encouraged to express your opinion in your own words. Please encourage your friends and family to contact the Governor as well. Each and every person’s opinion is important to making a new trauma center a reality!
SIGN UP NOW!
Office of Governor Charlie Crist
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Dear Governor Crist:
I am a resident of the Okaloosa/Walton County area of the Panhandle. I believe that our community is in need of and deserving of an additional trauma center that will help save lives and deliver top quality trauma care for our residents.
The reasons we need this new trauma center are clear!
- Trauma centers save lives.
- Long distances to a trauma center reduce their use and increase injury fatality rates, particularly from auto accidents.
- The nearest trauma centers to Okaloosa and Walton Counties are located in Pensacola, a distance of more than 50 miles for most patients.
- Because of the distance to Pensacola, most persons injured in Okaloosa or Walton County are treated at local hospitals – not trauma centers.
- Rapid growth of the local population will further limit accessibility of Pensacola trauma centers, increasing the threat to lives and health.
- Having a loved one receiving critical care at a distant location increases stress and cost for families in a very difficult time.
Governor Crist, this issue is a matter of life or death. Our residents and visitors deserve the same timely, high quality trauma center services in our community as enjoyed by those in Pensacola and other cities. Please help make this a reality!
Sincerely yours,
________________________
Signature
________________________
Print Name |
To download a copy of this letter, please click the file below. The letter is in Microsoft Word Format. The attached draft letter is provided as an example,
but you are encouraged to express your opinion in your own words.
The letter below is in Microsoft
Word format and is available
for you to download.
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