Charlotte, NC, July 21, 2014 – In June, Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center was approved by the North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services (NCOEMS) to receive trauma patients. To get approval, Presbyterian Medical Center merged its license with Novant Health Charlotte Orthopedic Hospital, and is in the process of making multiple upgrades to its emergency department, operating rooms and helipad. Through Presbyterian Medical Center’s application, it has shown NCOEMS it is prepared to care for patients as a Level II trauma center.
Presbyterian Medical Center will begin receiving trauma patients August 1. When Medic responds to a trauma patient, the patient will have a choice of which hospital will treat them. If a patient has no choice, Medic will take the patient to the closest medical center.
Presbyterian Medical Center has always cared for trauma patients. In 2013, NCOEMS changed the way trauma patients are received – a hospital must be an approved trauma center. Through Presbyterian Medical Center’s trauma center application, patient care will only improve.
“The state is recognizing we can care for the patients we have been caring for all along,” said Phil Angelo, BSN, RN, Novant Health regional trauma program manager. “This type of care is not new to us. We have been providing excellent care to the trauma patients we receive and a trauma designation will only help us improve that care with a more consistent flow of patients.”
There is no difference in the level of care provided by a Level I or Level II trauma center. According to the American College of Surgeons, “the standards for the provision of clinical care to injured patients for Level I and Level II trauma centers are identical.”
In order to receive designation at the end of the year-long approval process, Presbyterian Medical Center will need to admit and care for 1,200 trauma patients. The NCOEMS will evaluate patient outcomes, physician response times, process improvement programs, injury prevention and trauma outreach.
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