St. John West Shore Trauma Center Receives Level III Verification From The American College Of Surgeons' Committee Work In Trauma

The trauma center at St. John Medical Center has been verified as a Level III trauma center by the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This achievement recognizes the trauma center's dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients. With Level III Verification, the Trauma Center has the resources for emergency resuscitation, surgery, and intensive care of most trauma patients in order to stabilize the problem and quickly provide the care needed.

Established by the American College of Surgeons in 1987, the COT's Verification/Consultation Program for hospitals promotes the development of trauma centers in which participants provide not only the hospital resources necessary for trauma care, but also the entire spectrum of care to address the needs of all injured patients. This spectrum encompasses the pre-hospital phase through the rehabilitation process.

Verified trauma centers must meet the essential criteria that ensure trauma care capability and institutional performance, as outlined by the American College of Surgeon's Committee of Trauma in its current Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient manual.

The ACS Committee on Trauma's verification program does not designate trauma by the hospital that a trauma center has demonstrated its commitment to providing the highest quality trauma care for all injured patients. The actual establishment and the designation of trauma centers is the function of local, regional, or state health care systems agencies, such as the local emergency medical services (EMS) authority.

There are four separate categories of verification in the COT's program. Each category has specific criteria that must be met by facility seeking that level of verification. Each hospital has an on-site review by a team of experiences trauma surgeons, who use the current Resources for the Optimal Care of the Injured Patient manual as a guideline in conducting the survey. President Cliff J. Coker of St. John Medical Center discussed his satisfaction with the commitment of the trauma center. Coker stated, "We are pleased to have been cited as a Level III Trauma Center and have the opportunity to provide care for more critically injured patients. I would like to express thanks to the entire Emergency Department team for their hard work and commitment to achieving this level of care."

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational association of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical education and practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College has 59,000 members and it is the largest association of surgeons in the world. Longstanding achievements have placed the College in the forefront of American surgery and have made it an important advocate for all surgical patients.

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