Chandler Regional Designated As A Provisional Level I Trauma Center
For the last year, Chandler Regional, which earlier this year was named as one of the top 100 hospitals in the nation, has been training staff, and developing policies and processes in preparation for this new status, which allows patients with injuries needing immediate treatment to receive it much sooner at a time when minutes matter most. Before now, critically injured patients in the East Valley were transported to Phoenix or Scottsdale for treatment.
Trauma patients include those injured in motor vehicle or bike accidents, ATV collisions, crush injuries or falls. They can also include patients who have been stabbed or have a gun shot wound. These types of traumatic injuries are the leading cause of death for people aged one to 44 in the United States and in Arizona. Of those injured traumatically in Maricopa County in 2012, only 42 percent were transported to a Level I Trauma Center within an hour of being injured. That percentage drops to 10 for Pinal County.
“Minutes can mean the difference between life and death in these situations,” said Dr. Forrest Moore, Trauma Medical Director at Chandler Regional. “Now those patients who would have lost time in transfer will receive care in the timeframe that can save lives and dramatically improve outcomes.”
Chandler Regional’s Trauma Center is equipped with advanced technology and dedicated trauma operating rooms, and partners and coordinates with emergency medical service responders to provide critical care 24 hours a day to the traumatically injured. The trauma team is made up of medical professionals specially trained to respond to injured patients, and includes anesthesiologists, emergency physicians, hand surgeons, neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, plastic surgeons, trauma critical care surgeons, nurses, and ancillary services.
Chandler Regional leadership timed the trauma designation to take place in conjunction with the hospital’s current expansion project, scheduled to open later this year. Tower C at Chandler Regional will add 96 beds, expand the emergency department and increase operating room capacity.
“The additional beds in our new tower will allow us to admit patients we have treated in our Emergency Department and continue to care for them through recovery and discharge.” said Tim Bricker, President and CEO of Chandler Regional. “Not only will the care be seamless and continuous, but family and loved ones of Southeast Valley residents who suffer traumatic injuries will be able to visit and support patients a little closer to home.
Click here to learn more about the Trauma Team.
Publish date:
Monday, March 17, 2014