St. Elizabeth Trauma Center Receives Verification from American College of Surgeons

RED BLUFF, CA - July 18, 2018 – The trauma center at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital has been verified as a Level III Trauma Center through August 30, 2020 by the Verification Review Committee, an ad hoc committee of the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the American College of Surgeons. This achievement recognizes the trauma center's dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients.

Established by the American College of Surgeons in 1987, the COT'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 the essential criteria that ensure trauma care capability and institutional performance.

The ACS Committee on Trauma's 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.

The American College of Surgeons 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. The College has over 72,000 members and it is the largest association of surgeons in the world.

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About Dignity Health North State

Mercy Medical Center Redding, St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff, and Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta are Dignity Health North State hospitals sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy of Auburn. The hospitals are passionate about patient care, committed to community outreach, advocates for the underserved, and dedicated to delivering quality, affordable health services to those in need.  All three hospitals have been honored with numerous awards.  Mercy Medical Center Redding has received National Research Corporation’s Consumer Choice Award for eight consecutive years and the Healthgrades' Distinguished Hospital Award for three consecutive years. St. Elizabeth Community Hospital received a Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospital in the Nation for seven consecutive years – an honor no other California hospital of its size has achieved. Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta has been recognized as a Top 100 Critical Access hospital in the Nation by the National Rural Health Association.  The hospitals also offer a broad array of outpatient services and the senior services of Connected Living.  Visit www.mercy.org to learn more.