PUEBLO, Colo. (February 25, 2010)--- The Trauma Center at Parkview Medical Center has been verified as a Level II Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This achievement recognizes the trauma center’s dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients. Parkview Medical Center is the only Level II Trauma Center south of Denver to hold both a Level II designation from the State of Colorado and Level II Trauma verification from the ACS. http://www.facs.org/trauma/verified.html
Verified trauma centers must meet the essential criteria that ensure trauma care capability and institutional performance, as outlined by the ACS Committee on 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 centers. Rather, the program provides confirmation that a trauma center has demonstrated its commitment to providing the highest quality trauma care for all injured patients based on rigid national standards. “When you are verified by the ACS as a Level II Trauma Center, it is known in the trauma world that you are meeting and exceeding standards, no matter what state you are in,” explained Dee Crump, Parkview Trauma Program Manager.
There are five separate categories of verification in the ACS Committee on Trauma’s program. Each category has specific criteria that must be met by a facility seeking verification. Each hospital has an on-site review by a team of experienced site reviewers, who use the current Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient manual as a guideline in conducting the survey.
The extensive Level II Trauma survey of national requirements at Parkview Medical Center was conducted by a 3-member team from the Verification Review Committee (VRC), a subcommittee of the ACS Committee on Trauma. After review of the survey, Parkview Medical Center’s Trauma Center was verified as a Level II Trauma Center. Parkview Medical Center has successfully maintained designation as a Level II Trauma Center by the State of Colorado since 2002.
“We are proud of the Trauma team at Parkview, that includes our physician partners, remains focused on providing exceptional trauma care to severely injured patients throughout southern Colorado, northern New Mexico and southeastern Kansas,” explained Mike Baxter, Parkview Medical Center President and CEO. “This ACS verification effort validates over ten years of continuous effort to bring exceptional Level II care to our community.”
Established by the American College of Surgeon’s in 1987, the Committee on Trauma Consultation/ Verification 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.
The ACS is a scientific and educational association of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise standards of surgical education and practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College has over 72,000 members and it is the largest association of surgeons in the world. Longstanding achievements have placed the ACS in the forefront of American surgery and have made it an important advocate for all surgical patients.