VCU Medical Center re-approved as level 1 trauma center
Joe Kuttenkuler
VCU Communications and Public Relations
(804) 828-6607
jpkutten@vcu.edu
3/26/2004
RICHMOND,
Va. – The Office of Emergency Medical Services in the State Department of
Health has re-verified the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center as a
Level I Trauma Center. The verification is for three years – the maximum
period allowed.
The
only Level I Trauma Center in Central Virginia and one of just five in the
state, the VCU Medical Center provides comprehensive, specialized care for
severely injured patients. As a Level I center, the hospital must offer 24-hour,
on-site surgical staff and dedicated operating room space. Additionally, VCU
provides treatment of severe burns through its Evans-Haynes Burn Center. The
medical center serves as a referral site for the state and is the coordinating
facility for the area during disasters.
“The
re-verification is a tribute to the excellence of the multidisciplinary care
that is provided by the Trauma Center,” said
Rao R. Ivatury, M.D., professor and director of trauma and critical care and
emergency surgery. “The Level I designation is continued recognition of the institution’s
leadership in all aspects of trauma care, patient care, education, research and
injury prevention.”
The
trauma designation process is voluntary and intended to identify the varying
levels of capability available at participating hospitals. Virginia assigns
three designation levels.
·
Level I Centers – in addition to 24-hour, on-site surgical staff and
dedicated operating rooms, round-the-clock access to laboratory services and
sub-specialties including, cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, plastic surgery,
anesthesiology and radiology must also be available.
·
Level II Centers – typically based in community hospitals – are not
required to have designated resources on-site 24-hours a day. For example,
surgeons must be promptly available at all times, but may not always be at the
hospital. Unlike a Level I, Level II centers are not required to offer constant
access to cardiac or pediatric surgeons.
·
Level III Centers – generally found in rural communities – can
provide quick assessment, stabilization and some surgical intervention for
patients. A general surgeon is required to be promptly available, but no other
surgical specialties are mandated.
Depending
on the severity of the patient’s injuries, Level II and III centers may
transfer their patients to a Level I facility.
“The
Level I designation requires a profound commitment to patients throughout the
entire organization,” said John Duval, CEO of MCV Hospitals at the VCU Medical
Center. “It is a continuum of care that begins in the emergency department and
runs through the intensive care units and support areas, so that people
throughout the hospital develop an expertise in the care and treatment of
critically injured patients...that is our core strength.”
The
VCU Medical Center was the first facility in Virginia to receive trauma
designation, which the state began issuing in 1981. The trauma center admits
about 300 patients each month.
- About VCU and the VCU Medical Center
Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located on two downtown campuses in Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 32,000 students in 211 certificate and degree programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Sixty-nine of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU’s 13 schools and one college. MCV Hospitals and the health sciences schools of Virginia Commonwealth University compose the VCU Medical Center, one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers. For more, see www.vcu.edu.
