By Marion Davis
Contributing Writer
PROVIDENCE - Rhode Island Hospital, the state’s only trauma center, has been verified as a Level I trauma center by the Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons after a “rigorous review” of its resources, the hospital said today.
The ACS recognizes four levels of trauma centers; Level I is the top level, indicating that a hospital provides a full range of services, including research and medical education. Rhode Island Hospital has been verified as a Level I trauma center for the past 17 years. According to the National Foundation for Trauma Care, there are 747 trauma centers in the country, but only 214 are verified as Level I.
To qualify as a Level I trauma center, a hospital must be fully prepared to treat victims of traumatic injuries – from falls, car crashes, gunshots, assaults, etc. – offering the highest level of medical and surgical care, with surgeons and anesthesiologists on duty 24 hours a day. It also must have a wide range of specialists, such as orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons, promptly available if needed, and be involved in education and in efforts to prevent traumatic injuries in its community.
The proposed Lifespan-Care New England merger plan includes establishing a Level II trauma center at Kent Hospital in Warwick, but Rhode Island Hospital would still remain the state’s top trauma center.
“The emergency medicine and trauma physicians, nurses and staff of our Anderson Emergency Center at Rhode Island Hospital are committed to providing the best available trauma and critical care to the most seriously ill and critically injured in our region,” said Dr. Charles A. Adams Jr., interim chief of trauma and surgical care at the hospital, in a news release. “We are proud to be the only Level I trauma center in the region, and we strive to remain a leader in emergency care, teaching and research.”
To be verified as a trauma center, Rhode Island Hospital underwent an on-site review earlier this year by a team of experienced trauma surgeons, who used the ACS’s current “Resources for the Optimal Care of the Injured Patient” manual as a guideline in their evaluation.
Founded in 1863, Rhode Island Hospital is a private, not-for-profit hospital and is the largest teaching hospital of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. It is also a major trauma center for southeastern New England and is heavily involved in research, with awards from the National Institutes of Health of nearly $27 million per year. For more information, visit www.rhodeislandhospital.org.
