For our community, Level IV Trauma services will provide thorough, effective triage and better outcomes whenever seriously injured patients come to Prowers Medical Center for emergency care. We are now strongly connected to the statewide Trauma Center Network, making transfers to higher level of care facilities more efficient when every second counts.

The evidence shows that injured patients treated in a trauma-designated facility have better outcomes than those treated in a non-designated area, even in rural settings.

Trauma Center processes ensure that when
a trauma patient arrives in the Emergency Department (ED), all the appropriate clinicians
are present to assess the patient and deliver rapid care. This is done by establishing a set of criteria to activate a trauma team. Initiating a trauma team involves communication between prehospital/ emergency medical services and the Emergency Department.

Once the patient report is given, the team assembles in the ED. The trauma team includes a physician, nurses, laboratory technician, imaging technician, respiratory therapist, a surgeon and other ancillary staff as needed.

The Emergency Services team thoroughly reviews every trauma case that comes through the hospital. The review process is a multistep approach identifying any areas of opportunity for improvement throughout the trauma patient’s continuum of care. These identified opportunities are then presented to a multidisciplinary committee, where action plans are created and implemented to effectively improve patient care.