SEARHC - What's New - SEARHC Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital earns Level IV trauma rating

SEARHC Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital earns Level IV trauma rating

The State of Alaska's Section of Community Health and Emergency Medical Services certified SEARHC Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital as a Level IV center in late April. The trauma center designation is good for three years and comes after a two-year certification process that involved site visits and other reviews.

There are four levels of trauma center designation/certification, and Alaska has adopted the criteria set forth by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ASCOT). The top three levels — Levels I, II and III — require national review by ASCOT, while Level IV trauma centers go through state review. Level IV trauma centers, also known as Local Trauma Stabilization Centers, are small rural facilities that provide initial evaluation and assessment of injured patients prior to transfer to a larger referral facility, according to the state's trauma system Web page, www.chems.alaska.gov/EMS/Trauma_system.htm.

As certified trauma centers, hospitals demonstrate their commitment to providing the best trauma care possible by allowing experts to review staffing and qualifications, procedures, protocols and resources; meeting state and national standards for providing timely and optimal care for the trauma patient; and being prepared to treat and transport trauma patients according to Alaska's system-wide plan.

Sitka Community Hospital also earned a Level IV trauma center rating and the two Sitka hospitals are the fourth and fifth hospitals in the state to pass the certification process. They join the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage (Level II), Norton Sound Regional Hospital in Nome (Level IV) and Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Regional Hospital in Bethel (Level IV). The two Sitka hospitals went through the application process together.

"The high quality of emergency and trauma-related services provided by Sitka's two hospitals is reflected in meeting the standards set for this designation as Level IV trauma centers," said Frank Sutton, SEARHC/Vice President of Hospital Services.

Dr. Leslie Wood and nurses Chris Anglin, Gale Kehres and Mary Watkins were the driving forces in Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital's bid for certification, Sutton said.

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