VCU news

By Joe Kuttenkuler

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.