General characteristics of the 95 Canadian rural EDs participating in the study
| Annual ED patient visits (mean±SD) | 13 458±8853 |
| ED stretchers (mean±SD) | 6.8±3.9 |
| Acute care beds (mean±SD) | 23.0±17.7 |
| Long-term beds (mean±SD) | 18.7±23.8 |
| Local ICU | 16.8% (n=16/95) |
| EDs>300 km from a level 1 trauma centre | 44.2% (n=42/95) |
| EDs>300 km from a level 2 trauma centre | 54.4% (n=37/68)* |
*This proportion was calculated for 68 EDs because 27 (28.4%, n=27/95) do not have access to a level 2 trauma centre, according to Hameed et al's list.26
ED, emergency department; ICU, intensive care unit.