The Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, the main campus of San Bernardino County’s county hospital, has been certified as a Level 1 trauma center.
According to the American Trauma Society, a Level I trauma center is a comprehensive regional resource that is capable of dealing with severely injured patients. A Level I trauma center is capable of providing total care for every aspect of injury – from prevention through rehabilitation. Elements of Level I trauma centers include 24-hour in-house coverage by general surgeons, and prompt availability of care in specialties such as orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology, internal medicine, plastic surgery, oral and maxillofacial, pediatric and critical care, as well as referral resource for communities in nearby regions. Level 1 trauma centers provide leadership in prevention, public education to surrounding communities and provide continuing education of the trauma team members, while incorporating a comprehensive quality assessment program. Level 1 trauma centers are also required to operate an organized teaching and research effort to help direct new innovations in trauma care, make available a program for substance abuse screening and patient intervention and meet minimum requirements for accommodating a set annual volume of severely injured patients based upon the population being served. Martha Guzman-Hurtado, the chief communications officer for San Bernardino County, said, “One of the region’s biggest hospital’s for adult trauma care is the county-owned-and-operated Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, which is now verified as a Level 1 trauma center. The Hospital’s dedicated team of healthcare professionals provide the highest level of care to the Inland Empire’s most critically injured patents.”
“ARMC [Arrowhead Regional Medical Center] just receive Trauma 1 Level verification by the American College of Surgeons,” said Dr. Carol Lee, the emergency medicine program director at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.
“It means that all of these services at the hospital are able to work together in a timely fashion to take a patient from the doorway to a definitive care place,” said Dr. Brandon Woodward, the medical center’s trauma director. “We were Level 2 before this. By achieving Level 1 status, we have become a center that doesn’t need to transfer any patients out to provide lifesaving care.”
“It [ARMC] is well known as the county hospital that serves the Inland Empire region with high quality medical care, but also a great place to train future physicians and future nurses,” said Lee.
“We developed a program, actually just a partnership, with out local hospitals to go out and teach them about trauma,” said Richard Vara, a registered nurse and one of the medical center’s trauma coordinators. “It’s a phone call, and then we’ll set up a classroom for the physicians and emergency room nurses. We’re more than happy to go and provide this education, because our goal is to provide optimal care for all of our patients, not only in our hospital but in outside hospitals, as well.”
“I think having education in addition to being able to deliver high quality care makes this hospital a very special place,” said Lee.
“Trauma injuries are a leading cause of death for people under the age of 44,” said Guzman-Hurtado. “ARMC trauma specialists treat more than 2,500 trauma-related injuries and illnesses every year.”