Cleveland Clinic Akron General (118)

Cleveland Clinic Akron General is an American College of Surgeons Verified Level I Trauma Center.

We know that emergencies are never planned, but when they do happen, patients at Cleveland Clinic Akron General are met by a responsive, caring staff of board-certified emergency physicians and other specially trained professionals – including nurses, technologists, social workers, and chaplains. The trauma team is lead by our expert, attending trauma surgeons, Dr. Farid Muakkassa, Dr. Ali Mallat, Dr. Amy Jarvis, Dr. Daniel Vazquez, Dr. William Leukhardt, and Dr. Christopher Wolff.

As a Level I Trauma Center, as designated by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), Cleveland Clinic Akron General offers the technology, expertise, and staffing to treat any injury, regardless of its severity. Operating rooms, diagnostic services, and trauma specialists are on-call 24-hours a day.

The trauma team includes:

• Pre-hospital providers
• Trauma surgeons
• Critical care intensivists
• Orthopedic, neurosurgical, and cardiovascular surgeons
• Specially trained registered nurses
• Radiologists and radiology technologists
• Respiratory therapists
• Operating room personnel
• Rehabilitation specialists
• Social workers
• Spiritual care department

All emergency care focuses on recovery, but this is even more important for trauma victims. More severe injuries may require additional or specialized medical attention, both now and in the future. Cleveland Clinic Akron General provides patients with comprehensive care from the time of their injury, all the way through their recovery. This includes treatment while admitted and after discharge, such as therapy and rehabilitation.

Experienced rehab specialists offer inpatient and outpatient physical therapy, as well as occupational therapy for all trauma needs – whether it’s gaining mobility of the hands, improving speech and hearing, or getting back to everyday activities. Through our affiliated Cleveland Clinic Rehabilitation Hospital, Edwin Shaw, patients, and their physicians, have access to a comprehensive, fully accredited facility, specializing in rehabilitation services.

PATH Program

Akron General’s Emergency Department offers the PATH (Providing Access To Healing) Center to provide quality, trauma-informed, compassionate care to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, or elder abuse, and neglect for Summit and surrounding counties; the PATH program also ensures the quality of evidence collection. The PATH Center is staffed by nurses and other professionals who are trained in the systematic collection of evidence, while also maintaining an atmosphere of support and compassion. For more information on the services that the PATH Center offers, please call 330-344-1148.

Disaster Planning and HAZMAT Training

Highway crashes, severe weather, chemical spills, and fires are just a few of the many disasters that can strike with little or no warning. Cleveland Clinic Akron General works closely with other area hospitals, the Summit County Emergency Management Agency, and local fire, law enforcement, and emergency medical response agencies to prepare for all types of community-wide disasters. Akron General is the hazardous materials (HAZMAT) medical control hospital for Summit County and performs decontamination, and the treatment of hazardous material exposures. Additionally, Akron General participates in Summit County’s hazardous materials test drills and provides medical advisors for the City of Akron and Summit County HAZMAT units.

Akron General offers both professional and community education courses on how to prepare for emergencies and prevent trauma.

New Emergency Department in 2018

Cleveland Clinic Akron General’s newest addition of a $49.3 million ED building, which more than tripled the size of its original downtown emergency department, will help enhance patient care and experience

The new emergency department is designed to expedite the process from admittance through discharge. The 67,000-square-foot building will include:

• Four high-acuity trauma bays
• Sixty total treatment rooms
• An imaging department, including a CT scanner and two radiographic rooms
• A designated area for the PATH (Providing Access to Healing) Center, which serves patients seeking treatment from all types of violence, including Akron General’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program

Emergency Medicine and Trauma Research

Part of being a Verified Level I Trauma Center means that Akron General is constantly looking to speed up and improve the quality of urgent care delivery, through both clinical research, and the education of healthcare professionals involved in trauma care.

Speeding up diagnosis and treatment is an important focus of Akron General’s research; additionally, Akron General collaborates with pre-hospital providers – such as fire departments and paramedics – to improve care even before our patients arrive. This education can include determining the best way to stabilize victims at the scene of a car crash, updating standards to help reduce potential infection, or researching new treatments to reduce the need for surgery. Similarly, caregivers are continually reviewing the best transportation methods and routes that emergency medical workers use to get patients to Akron General from any of the 26 counties it serves, by both ambulance or helicopter.

Each year Akron General sees over 55,000 people in the Emergency Department. Research projects have the potential to benefit these individuals in numerous ways – like helping find better ways to relieve pain for minor cuts, all the way to major traumas. Additionally, feasibility studies are currently underway that involve screening patients who are seen in the Emergency Department for potentially deadly illnesses that may otherwise go undetected.

Cleveland Clinic Akron General supports the research of Emergency Medicine Residents through graduation as part of their medical education, with the hopes of providing them with the best, most comprehensive clinical experience possible.