American College of Surgeons’  Committee on Trauma verifies Banner Good Samaritan’s Level I trauma center

While most hospitals offer emergency services, only a handful of hospitals in Arizona (six in metro-Phoenix) have been certified by Arizona Emergency Medical System to deal with the most life-threatening injuries including serious motor vehicle accidents, gunshot wounds, falls and crush injuries among others. Banner Good Samaritan cared for 3,145 trauma patients who sustained serious physical injuries from an external force during its most recent reporting period, July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.

Certified trauma centers must meet criteria that demonstrate the hospital’s trauma capabilities and performance. There are three Level I centers and one Level II center in the Phoenix area.

“The COT (Committee on Trauma) verifies how high the bar is raised by the hospital and indicates the quality of care each trauma patient receives,” said Paul Dabrowski, MD, associate medical director for Trauma Services at Banner Good Samaritan. “Although this hospital has been a state-designated Level I trauma center since 1979, the COT verification gives us additional tools and national standards to meet and measure that care.”

A Level I trauma program must have dedicated hospital resources for the management of trauma patients throughout all aspects of their care, including resuscitation, acute care and rehabilitation. Trauma surgeons, dedicated trauma teams of nurses and technicians and anesthesiologists are available 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week. Other specialty surgeons, like neurosurgeons, must be available within a half hour after they are called.

Dr. Dabrowski added that the Trauma Services department has made a commitment to assist in training physicians and nurses at rural and outlying hospitals around the state in providing immediate care for trauma patients that will allow patients a better chance of surviving their injuries while being transported to the nearest trauma center.

“More than 50 percent of the trauma patients at Banner Good Samaritan are transferred from other hospitals, many of those from every corner of the state,” Dr. Dabrowski said. “The care that they received on scene and at the initial hospital contributes greatly to their success when they arrive at the trauma center.”

About Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center
Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center has been providing medical care to Arizona and the Southwest since 1911. Banner Good Samaritan is owned and operated by Phoenix-based Banner Health, a nonprofit organization, and is a flagship hospital within the system. The hospital was named to U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” list for Gynecology, Heart and Heart Surgery, Kidney Disease and Urology. Banner Good Samaritan has been recognized as a Magnet™ facility by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the highest honor a hospital can earn for its nursing care and practices.

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Contact:
Banner Good Samaritan Public Relations
(602) 239-4411