The trauma center at Erlanger Baroness Hospital has been verified as a Level I Trauma Center by the Verification Review Committee, a part of the Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons. This achievement recognizes the trauma center’s "dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients."
Established by the ACS in 1987, the COT’s Consultation Verification Program for Hospitals promotes the development of trauma centers in which participants provide not only the hospital resources necessary for trauma care, but also the entire spectrum of care to address the needs of all injured patients.
This spectrum encompasses the prehospital phase through the rehabilitation process.
“ACS verification means that the trauma center meets the most stringent criteria available from the prehospital phase, trauma bay resuscitation, emergency surgical intervention, ICU care and rehabilitation after hospital discharge,” stated Dr. Robert Maxwell, associate trauma medical director at Erlanger. “It takes a team of dedicated professionals with a common goal of achieving excellence in trauma care.”
Verified trauma centers must meet the essential criteria that ensure trauma care capability and institutional performance, as outlined by the ACS’s Committee on Trauma in its current manual. Verifications are valid for three years at which time a new review will occur. The ACS verification program does not designate trauma centers. Rather, the program provides confirmation that a trauma center has demonstrated its commitment to providing the highest quality of trauma care for all injured patients.
"Erlanger Health System provides the highest level of care for critically ill and traumatically injured patients," officials said. "As southeast Tennessee’s only Level I Trauma Center designated by both Alabama and Tennessee, Erlanger is the comprehensive resource for a 63-county service area, as well as the tertiary care facility central to the area’s Regional Trauma System covering Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina."