East Valley’s First Level-1 Trauma Center Receives Re-Verification from the American College of Surgeons

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Aug. 1, 2018) – Dignity Health Chandler Regional Medical Center’s Level-1 Trauma Center has received re-verification from the American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Trauma for the next three years. This achievement recognizes the trauma team’s dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients.

“The trauma team at Chandler Regional is dedicated to providing the quality care for all injured patients, and we are proud to note that the ACS surveyors cited no deficiencies for our program during the reverification survey,” says Charles Hu, MD, director of the East Valley’s first Level-1 Trauma Center which opened at Chandler Regional in 2014.

Established by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) in 1987, the Committee on Trauma’s 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 prehospital phase through the rehabilitation process. 

Verified trauma centers must meet essential criteria that ensure trauma care capability and institutional performance, as outlined by the Committee on Trauma in its current Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient manual. 

The 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. The actual establishment and the designation of trauma centers is the function of local, regional, or state health care systems agencies, such as the local emergency medical services (EMS) authority. 

There are five separate categories of verification in this program. Each category has specific criteria that must be met by a facility seeking that level of verification. Each hospital has an on-site review by a team of experienced site reviewers, who use the current manual as a guideline in conducting the survey. 

The ACS is a scientific and educational association of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical education and practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. It has more than 72,000 members and 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. 

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