Arkansas Code Title 20. Public Health and Welfare § 20-13-802. Legislative findings

(1) Traumatic injury is recognized as the leading killer of persons one (1) year to forty-four (44) years of age and is a serious yet preventable condition;

(2) Deaths due to trauma in the United States for 2005 were nearly one hundred thirty-nine thousand (139,000), and children nineteen (19) years of age or younger accounted for nearly twelve percent (12%) of the deaths;

(3) In 2006, two thousand one hundred nineteen (2,119) Arkansans lost their lives and twenty-five thousand three hundred eight (25,308) were admitted to hospitals due to trauma;

(4) The State of Arkansas incurs a massive expense from trauma in lives lost, productive years destroyed, and the emotional and monetary expense of caring for victims of trauma; and

(5) The experience of other states has shown that a comprehensive trauma system, including all phases of trauma care from prevention, prehospital care, and trauma center designation to rehabilitative care, can vastly improve overall trauma problems.