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Facts About Barton Hospital's Trauma Center

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Facts About Barton Hospital's Trauma Center

Cate Neal, RN

In 2015, Barton Memorial Hospital was designated a Level III Trauma Center.  

Here are seven quick facts and benefits about being a Level III Trauma Center for you and the community.

  1. As a Level III Trauma Center, trauma care starts when the paramedics arrive. Unlike other hospital facilities, trauma team members (emergency medicine physicians, surgeons, nurses, and lab and X-ray technicians) and facilities (operating rooms and life support equipment) are available 24-hours a day.
  2. We guarantee a team approach to trauma care. When the patient arrives, the trauma team is ready to care for the patient and quickly move through diagnosis and treatment. The team works and communicates with each other from time of injury through rehabilitation and discharge.
  3. Thirty percent of Barton’s emergency visits are trauma-related. This high number illustrates the community need for trauma services. 
  4. Injury prevention programs are incorporated into a trauma patient’s treatment plan, depending on the injury. Examples of programs include concussion awareness, alcohol prevention outreach, and physical therapy.
  5. A trauma center may help reduce life-threatening incidents in our community. Tools like a personalized follow-up plan and an increase in community outreach may reduce the number of traumatic injuries.
  6. Trauma designation is a choice; the hospital must seek it out and earn it. Verified Level III trauma centers meet more than 160 different essential criteria established by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and Committee on Trauma (COT).  All trauma designations require verification visits, education requirements, and a certification procedure. 
  7. Barton Hospital is one of four ACS-verified Level III trauma centers in California. Level I and II centers, primarily in urban areas, have a higher number of emergency personnel, and Level I centers require research and teaching facilities. Barton has agreements to transfer a patient to a Level I or II trauma center for more intensive care, if needed.

Cate Neal, RN is the Trauma Program Coordinator at Barton Memorial Hospital.