BOSTON -- If part of your annual summer ritual includes the trek to Tanglewood or some fun in the sun on Cape Cod, you should seriously hope that you don't get seriously hurt when you're there. NewsCenter 5's Sean Kelly reported on Thursday that gaps in the state's trauma care system could end up hurting you when you need help the most.

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"We have a large geographical barrier to getting patients throughout this region directly back to a trauma center," said Frederick Fowler, executive director of Southeastern Massachusetts Emergency Medical Services Council.

And that could mean the difference between life and death since trauma centers have more experience and equipment for treating critically injured people. "We would like to have as many patients who've had a traumatic injury get to a trauma center as fast as they can," said Dr. Marc Restuccia, medical director of Life Flight at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

But Team 5 Investigates found that doesn't always happen. Massachusetts' EMS system is divided into five regions. The Cape and Islands are part of Region 5 where there isn't a single trauma center.

"Right now I have no level one, two or three trauma centers. The closest ones I have are either in the city of Boston or in Providence, R.I.," said Fowler. That means getting patients to the care they need, either by ground or by air, takes a lot more time. And depending on the weather, those patients might not get to a trauma center at all.

"Are you worse off in Region 5 than in other parts of the state?" asked Kelly. "Yeah, you're going to be worse off. I'd say we have a significant number of patients who would benefit from having a trauma center located within the region," said Fowler.

The Cape isn't the only area suffering from a huge gap in trauma care. Massachusetts has 16 trauma centers spread throughout the state, but experts tell Team 5 Investigates that many more are needed. In Region 2, there is only one trauma center to cover all of central Massachusetts. And in the western part of the state, there are only two trauma centers despite the area's complex geography.

"We've never had anybody come in and say do we have a trauma system in Massachusetts, do we have enough of certain levels of trauma centers, are they placed geographically where they should be? The only entity that's going to say we need to do this is the Department of Public Health," said Dr. Susan Wedel, CEO, Boston Medflight.

While it is up to the state Department of Public Health to designate trauma centers, the American College of Surgeons verifies their level of expertise. Level one centers are the most highly equipped, level twos provide a similar level of care but aren't required to do trauma research, and level threes are a step above community hospitals.

"Where do you think the state is lacking?" asked Kelly. "I think from a statewide perspective we do need more level three trauma centers and potentially more level two trauma centers spread throughout the state," said Jonathan Epstein, executive director of Northeast Emergency Medical Services, Region 3.

Epstein told Team 5 Investigates that up until several years ago, Region 3 didn't have any trauma centers. "We asked our hospitals on a voluntary basis to step up to the plate and become trauma centers themselves," said Epstein.

Massachusetts public health officials haven't made a similar request. "Do you think there's a lack of political will on the state to make these changes?" asked Kelly. "It's going to take extensive leadership and with so many pressing issues in the Commonwealth, I'm not sure this is at the highest on the list," said Epstein.

Team 5 Investigates discovered it's not. Dr. Paul Dreyer oversees the trauma system for the state Department of Public Health. "Certainly it would be optimal I think had we a more widespread geographic distribution of trauma centers," said Dreyer. But he says the state won't take any action to make that happen. "That's more up to them (the regions) and their communities than it is up to us," said Dreyer.

Dreyer downplayed the concerns of every EMS director we spoke with. "Making sure people get to where they need to go as quickly as possible is going to be more valuable than worrying about whether a particular region has level three trauma centers rather than system hospitals," said Dreyer.

Critics say that response is a major part of the problem that's preventing trauma patients from getting the care they need. "What hasn't happened is there has not been leadership on this particular issue at the top, "said Wedel.

Until there is, experts say we'll continue to have dangerous gaps in our trauma system, a system the federal government has called woefully inadequate.