MISSION ZERO: Congress’s Great Idea to Keep Military Surgeons Ready for Deployment
In today’s polarized political landscape, many Americans doubt whether our elected leaders can collaborate on any issue. While partisan conflicts dominate headlines, it’s crucial to acknowledge Congress’s positive, albeit lesser-known, achievements, especially bipartisan policies.
One such policy is MISSION Zero, a groundbreaking program enacted in 2019 that allows military trauma specialists to collaborate with civilian trauma centers. Despite its modest cost, MISSION Zero has proven invaluable, and as Congress works through next year’s budget, it should prioritize reauthorization and funding for the grants that sustain this effective public-private partnership.
MISSION Zero significantly enhances the quality of care at US trauma centers while providing military doctors, nurses, and specialists with essential training to prepare for future battlefield scenarios. Beyond its military benefits, MISSION Zero strengthens local trauma facilities, ensuring communities nationwide receive top-tier trauma care.
This program not only saves lives but also fosters collaboration between military and civilian medical professionals, enriching trauma care practices on both fronts. Additionally, the program can help alleviate any workforce shortage issues in trauma centers.
Recent events underscore MISSION Zero's impact. During a mass shooting in North Carolina in April 2024, police officer Casey Hoover narrowly survived a life-threatening injury thanks to rapid treatment at a trauma center participating in the MISSION Zero program.
Understanding the distinction between hospitals and trauma centers is crucial. Hospitals provide a broad range of medical services, whereas trauma centers, situated within hospitals, specialize in treating severe, often life-threatening injuries resulting from accidents or violence. The surgeons and teams at trauma centers are available around the clock and perform life-saving procedures that cannot be replicated in a typical emergency room. Patients who receive specialized trauma care immediately after sustaining an injury are significantly more likely to survive and experience better outcomes. It is during these crucial moments that trauma teams truly demonstrate their value and expertise.
Through MISSION Zero, military medical professionals can attain and maintain critical skills needed on the battlefield, thereby enhancing military readiness. Similarly, civilian trauma centers enhance disaster preparedness by gaining an understanding of the injury patterns and rapid treatment from combat zones of wounded military personnel who will be distributed across the U.S. in times of war.
Looking forward, it’s imperative that Congress continues funding the MISSION Zero program. These grants not only support trauma centers in managing crises like the COVID-19 pandemic but also sustain crucial training for military healthcare personnel during non-deployment periods, ensuring readiness for future missions.
MISSION Zero’s current authorization expired in 2023, but both chambers of Congress have included it in reauthorization bills under the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA). And fiscal year 2024 appropriations allocated $4 million for MISSION Zero, acknowledging its importance in enhancing national trauma care capabilities. While the $4 million helps maintain the program at the current level, Congress should consider expanding the program to more trauma centers in 2025.
The program has exceeded expectations and stands as a testament to successful public-private cooperation, bridging military and civilian healthcare sectors to advance trauma care and preserve national readiness.
By integrating battlefield lessons into civilian trauma care, MISSION Zero not only saves lives but also strengthens our nation’s preparedness and security at home and abroad. Let’s applaud Congress for this innovative program and keeping this program on the books for years to come.
Jennifer Ward is president of the Trauma Center Association of America.
