CLEVELAND, OH — University Hospitals Parma Medical Center is verified as an official Level III Trauma Center exactly two years after it was given a provisional status. The verification was given by the Americal College of Surgeons or ACS.
This verification means the Powers Boulevard facility can serve the majority of patients with minor to moderate injuries with the right evaluation and stabilize the patients with severe injuries that require a higher level of care before being transferred to UH's Level I Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center at the main campus.
University Hospitals has invested $80 million for the facility since Parma Community General Hospital became UH Parma Medical Center in 2014. In addition, UH Parma Medical Center has also spent $2.75 million for building expansion and renovation as well as a high-tech Vinci Xi robot for surgery this year.
“We’re extremely happy to have the designation, which took a couple of years of hard work to get there. With Parma being a part of the UH System, the initiative across the system was to all have the community hospitals be able to provide comprehensive care in the community," said Dr David Linz, UH Parma Medical Center trauma medical director.
“One of UH’s tenets is that the community hospitals can keep most of the patients. So this just helps provide a higher level of care for any patient really in the Parma area,” added Dr Linz.
Linz also stated that the studies reveal an estimation of 85 percent of injured patients could be treated at their local community hospitals with trauma care certificate.
“Our most common injury by far in Parma involves falls by elderly patients,” Linz said. “As you know, America is aging and, particularly, Parma is a very elderly population. So if an elderly patient falls and has hip and rib fractures, maybe a concussion or a contusion on the brain that’s low level, in the past those patients would be transferred out.
“Now, they can stay because we have the trauma program.”
A Level III Trauma Center appointment needs constant coverage by general surgery that includes; access to multiple specialties such as surgeons who can cover orthopedics, neurosurgery, thoracic and ENT, ability to manage most of the injured patients; active prevention outreach to the community; constant trauma education for nurses, physicians and allied healthcare workers; and transfer agreements with Level I and Level II trauma hospitals for patients that surpass patient care resources.
“It is an absolute honor to be the first-ever ACS-accredited trauma hospital in the city—a huge benefit to our patients and first responders in the communities we serve,” said Jack Myers, RN, UH Parma Medical Center trauma coordinator.
“This upgrade in emergency services gives us the ability to keep more patients closer to home, providing more personalized health care and enhancing our already robust complement of comprehensive services,” added Myers.
“Being a Level III Trauma Center also allows our EMS to return more quickly to serving our residents and responding to 911 calls.”
This verification also means that UH Parma Medical Center nurses in the emergency department, ICU, surgery and post-surgical recovery floors have taken specialized training in trauma care.