Stamford Health Again Receives Level II Trauma Center Status

From Stamford Health: Stamford Health is proud to announce the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has reverified Stamford Hospital as a Level II Trauma Center for another three years. The ACS reverification recognizes the hospital’s dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients. Stamford Hospital is one of only seven hospitals in the state to hold the Level II Trauma designation from the Office of Emergency Medicine in the state of Connecticut.

“The high quality of our trauma center and its continued reverification is due to the daily dedication of Stamford Health’s physicians, nurses and staff. They are prepared to treat all trauma patients and provide around-the-clock care,” said Dr. Kevin Dwyer, Stamford Health’s director of trauma services and surgical critical care. “We are very thrilled to receive this reverification, as it recognizes our ability to develop and improve policies and procedures, create new strategies to prevent injuries, and educate the staff and community about trauma.”

As a Level II Trauma Center, Stamford Health provides 24-hour immediate coverage by highly trained trauma surgeons and physicians specializing in emergency medicine, anesthesiology, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, radiology, critical care, and trauma-trained nurses. Additionally, a Level II Trauma Center is committed to trauma prevention, continuing education of the trauma team members and to continued improvement in trauma care through a comprehensive quality assessment and performance improvement program. Level II Trauma Centers must be equivalent to the specialization and quality of care that is delivered by a Level I Trauma Center, but see less than 1,200 patients annually.

A trauma is a life-threatening occurrence, either accidental or intentional, that causes injuries. One out of every three people are directly or indirectly affected by trauma and it is the leading cause of death among Americans under 44 years-old. Falls, motor vehicle crashes, and pedestrians struck are the top three causes of preventable injury-related deaths in our community.

Research has found that patients who are treated at a trauma center have a significantly higher chance of survival. Stamford Health’s trauma team is committed to providing the community with the highest possible quality emergency care. In 2018, Stamford Health’s Emergency Department provided care to 55,300 patients. Of those patients, more than 860 patients were treated for a serious traumatic injury, ranging from age 0 to 101.

The reverification process occurs every three years to ensure optimal care is given to trauma patients. The process includes an extensive ACS on-site review of the hospital’s education and professional development, standards of care, quality of patient care and assessment of outcomes. Carla Rennie, RN, director, surgical services, coordinated Stamford’s successful site visit.

For more information, please visit www.stamfordhealth.org.

Photo: The Stamford Health Trauma Team. Front row, from left to right: Irene Lazarus, RN; Monica Jagtiani; Megan Tuite, RN; Carla Rennie, RN, Director Surgical Services; and Grace Marcus, RN. Back Row, from left to right: Mohamad Zanbrakji, MD, William Symons, MD, Kevin
Dwyer, MD, and Kevin Miller, MD. Not pictured: Joey Papa, MD, Vanessa Dyson. Photo credit: Stamford Health

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