Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - A new study shows a lot of Americans don't have access to the best care when it comes to burns.
Just over two years ago, Clifford Kamm was in a plane crash that left him with severe burns over 16 percent of his body.
He was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he was treated by Dr. Matthew Klein in the University of Washington Burn Center, verified as such by the American Burn Association.
“Burn care requires specialized equipment, specialized personnel and those are typically best provided in a burn center where there's experience among people caring for patients and taking care of burn injuries,” Klein says.
Using data from the U.S. Census, Dr. Klein and his colleagues analyzed access to this specialized care by measuring the proportion of people who could reach one of the country's 51 verified burn care centers via ambulance or helicopter in one or two hours.
The study, featured this week in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that 46.3% of the U.S. population lived within two hours of such a facility via ground transport; via air transport, that number rose to 79%. However, geographic access varied widely by state and region.
“What we essentially found is that there is some disparity based on where you live in this country in terms of how readily available a verified burn center would be to you if you were to sustain a burn injury,” Klein says.
Nearing the end of his treatment, Kamm reflects back on the care he's received for his injuries.
“There's a lot of expertise that goes on … I'm very fortunate to have the guys I do,” he says.
The closest verified burn center to Syracuse is located in Rochester at Strong Hospital, although the Clark Burn Center at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse is also able to treat patients, and serves a 27-county region in New York State.
