Trauma center

Trauma center

A trauma center (or trauma centre) is a <a href="/en/Hospital" title="Hospital" class="wl">hospital</a> equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from <a href="/en/Major_trauma" title="Major trauma" class="wl">major traumatic injuries</a> such as <a href="/en/Falling_(accident)" title="Falling (accident)" class="wl">falls</a>, <a href="/en/Motor_vehicle_collision" title="Motor vehicle collision" class="mw-redirect wl">motor vehicle collisions</a>, or <a href="/en/Gunshot_wound" title="Gunshot wound" class="wl">gunshot wounds</a>. A trauma center may also refer to an <a href="/en/Emergency_department" title="Emergency department" class="wl">emergency department</a> (also known as a "casualty department" or "accident and emergency") without the presence of specialized services to care for victims of <a href="/en/Major_trauma" title="Major trauma" class="wl">major trauma</a>.

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Type of hospital</div>
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<figure class="wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:Imago0052822637s.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Imago0052822637s.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Imago0052822637s.jpg/300px-Imago0052822637s.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="632" data-file-height="420" data-file-type="bitmap" height="199" width="300" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Imago0052822637s.jpg/450px-Imago0052822637s.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Imago0052822637s.jpg/600px-Imago0052822637s.jpg 2x" alt="Imago0052822637s.jpg"></a><figcaption>Typical trauma room at Level I Trauma Center</figcaption></figure>
In the United States, a hospital can receive trauma center status by meeting specific criteria established by the <a href="/en/American_College_of_Surgeons" title="American College of Surgeons" class="wl">American College of Surgeons</a> (ACS) and passing a site review by the Verification Review Committee.<a href="#cite_note-facs-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a> Official designation as a trauma center is determined by individual state law provisions. Trauma centers vary in their specific capabilities and are identified by "Level" designation: Level I (Level-1) being the highest and Level III (Level-3) being the lowest (some states have five designated levels, in which case Level V (Level-5) is the lowest).

The highest levels of trauma centers have access to specialist medical and <a href="/en/Nurse" title="Nurse" class="mw-redirect wl">nursing</a> care, including <a href="/en/Emergency_medicine" title="Emergency medicine" class="wl">emergency medicine</a>, <a href="/en/Trauma_surgery" title="Trauma surgery" class="wl">trauma surgery</a>, <a href="/en/Critical_care_medicine" title="Critical care medicine" class="mw-redirect wl">critical care</a>, <a href="/en/Neurosurgery" title="Neurosurgery" class="wl">neurosurgery</a>, <a href="/en/Orthopedic_surgery" title="Orthopedic surgery" class="wl">orthopedic surgery</a>, <a href="/en/Anesthesiology" title="Anesthesiology" class="wl">anesthesiology</a>, and <a href="/en/Radiology" title="Radiology" class="wl">radiology</a>, as well as a wide variety of highly specialized and sophisticated surgical and diagnostic equipment.<a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a><a href="#cite_note-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a><a href="#cite_note-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a> Lower levels of trauma centers may be able to provide only initial care and stabilization of a traumatic injury and arrange for transfer of the patient to a higher level of trauma care.

The operation of a trauma center is often expensive and some areas may be underserved by trauma centers because of that expense.[<a href="/en/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" class="wl">citation needed</a>] As there is no way to schedule the need for emergency services, patient traffic at trauma centers can vary widely.[<a href="/en/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" class="wl">citation needed</a>]

A trauma center may have a <a href="/en/Helipad" title="Helipad" class="wl">helipad</a> for receiving patients that have been <a href="/en/Air_medical_services" title="Air medical services" class="wl">airlifted</a> to the hospital. In some cases, persons injured in remote areas and transported to a distant trauma center by <a href="/en/Helicopter" title="Helicopter" class="wl">helicopter</a> can receive faster and better medical care than if they had been transported by ground <a href="/en/Ambulance" title="Ambulance" class="wl">ambulance</a> to a closer hospital that does not have a designated trauma center.

A trauma center is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma center may also refer to an emergency department without the presence of specialized services to care for victims of major trauma. In the United States, a hospital can receive trauma center status by meeting specific criteria established by the American College of Surgeons and passing a site review by the Verification Review Committee. Official designation as a trauma center is determined by individual state law provisions. Trauma centers vary in their specific capabilities and are identified by "Level" designation: Level I being the highest and Level III being the lowest is the lowest). The highest levels of trauma centers have access to specialist medical and nursing care, including emergency medicine, trauma surgery, critical care, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, anesthesiology, and radiology, as well as a wide variety of highly specialized and sophisticated surgical and diagnostic equipment. Lower levels of trauma centers may be able to provide only initial care and stabilization of a traumatic injury and arrange for transfer of the patient to a higher level of trauma care. 