Trauma Center
Trauma patients are critically ill, often comatose and sometimes in a state of shock due to blood loss and multiple injuries throughout the body. Injuries that affect multiple organ systems require that patients have instant access to physicians with many different specialties, including orthopedics, neurosurgery, reconstructive surgery, radiology and anesthesia. Also, because life-threatening injuries can occur at any time, it is important that patients have access to quality care 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Trauma centers have these unique abilities. The trauma infrastructure includes not only an intensive care unit (ICU), but also helicopters for rapid patient transport, operating rooms and a large number of appropriately trained and experienced nurses, technicians and other staff.While all hospitals and emergency departments care for people with minor traumatic injuries, only trauma centers have the capacity, commitment and infrastructure to deliver continuous and consistent high quality trauma care. In the United States, trauma centers are categorized according to the level of trauma care available and are ranked in five categories, from limited care facilities in Level V and IV up to comprehensive care centers in Level I. Since the onset of trauma systems and level I trauma centers, people are now able to survive severe injuries that previously may have proven fatal.