The American College of Surgeons (ACS) announced today that it will grant a one-year extension to all hospitals currently verified by the Committee on Trauma (COT). In addition, the COT is postponing all scheduled verification site visits by as long as one year.
For ACS-verified trauma centers in good standing, the additional year will extend a standard three-year verification to a four-year verification, according to a COT announcement. The site visit postponement applies to all onsite visits scheduled from March 2020 through the end of the year.
“We know that hospitals are diverting resources, limiting visitors, and placing mandatory travel bans on their staff,” the announcement states. “This one-year extension will alleviate the time and effort usually required in the preparation for an onsite review. We anticipate resuming site visits when it seems appropriate.”
Trauma centers anticipating site visits in the coming three years could also be eligible for an extension. According to the announcement, “all programs due for a site visit in 2021, 2022 and 2023 will be pushed back to allow adequate time to fully recover from this crisis and return to regular program operations.”