St. Luke Hospital retains trauma center designation
Staff writer
The trauma center at St. Luke Hospital has again received designation as a Level IV Trauma Center by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Level IV centers are hospitals whose primary role in trauma care is to stabilize seriously injured patients and, if necessary, transfer them to a higher level trauma center.
Injuries are a leading cause of death and disability in Kansas.
“We know that every second matters when a life-threatening injury occurs,” KDHE secretary and state health officer Susan Mosier said. “Trauma center designation is a key part of the overall statewide trauma system, which increases the chance of survival and reduces permanent injury for patients in Kansas. On behalf of families and visitors in our state, we congratulate St. Luke Hospital for serving in this vital role.”
Every three years, designated trauma centers must meet criteria that ensure trauma care capability and institutional performance as outlined by the American College of Surgeons and endorsed by the Kansas Advisory Committee on Trauma.
Hospitals that have achieved Level IV designation have demonstrated a commitment to providing optimal care for those who have been seriously injured.
St. Luke Hospital has been designated a Level IV center since 2014.
The designation process includes a visit from state surveyors.
Hospital spokesman Roger Schroeder said surveyors review policy and procedures, audit charts, analyze laboratory, radiology, and emergency room procedures, and gather information from Emergency Medical Services.
KDHE’s trauma program works to assure patients who are injured in Kansas have access to an organized system of trauma care that offers them the best chance of recovery.
There are four separate categories of designation by the Kansas program. Each category has specific criteria that must be met by a facility seeking that level of designation. Designations are based on the hospital’s care capability, from the highest, Level I, to hospitals designated Level IV.
The next closest Level IV centers are McPherson Hospital and Susan B. Allen Hospital, El Dorado.
Last modified Nov. 15, 2017