Trauma Centers
A trauma center is a specialized hospital that has the immediate availability of specialized personnel, equipment, and services to treat the most severe and critical of injuries. This includes teams that can perform immediate surgery and other necessary procedures for people with serious or life-threatening injuries. Currently, less than 10% of hospitals in the U.S. have a trauma center.
It is helpful for individuals with children, elderly relatives or their own medical issues to be aware of the abilities of their closest hospital and whether that hospital is equipped to handle more critical, difficult, or severe cases. There are different levels of trauma centers, which refer to the kinds of resources available in a trauma center and the number of patients admitted yearly.
In Pennsylvania, most hospitals utilize a 5-level system, with Level 1 being the most capable of providing total care for every aspect of injury from prevention through rehabilitation, down to Level 5 dealing only with evaluation, stabilization and diagnostic capabilities, and then preparing patients for transfer to higher levels of care.
Philadelphia County, as of June 2013, has five adult Level I trauma centers: Einstein Medical Center, Hahnemann University Hospital, Temple University Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Philadelphia also has one adult Level II trauma center (Aria Health-Torresdale), and two pediatric Level I trauma centers (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children). In Montgomery County there is one adult Level II trauma center (Abington Memorial Hospital). In Bucks County there is one adult Level II trauma center (St. Mary Medical Center). In Delaware County there is one adult Level II trauma center (Crozer Keystone Health System).
If you have any questions about this post or a situation that occurred in an emergency room or trauma center, please do not hesitate to contact us.