Trauma excellence requires collaboration

 What does it take to become a verified Trauma Center?

For the staff at McLaren Macomb, it has meant many years of hard work and diligence in meeting and exceeding the standards set forth by the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

Well before the first verification was earned in 2010, the hospital was planning and preparing for the first review process, conducted by a team of trauma experts from outside the county.

The ACS review team evaluates a hospital’s commitment to optimal trauma care, readiness, resources, policies, patient care and performance improvement.

The hospital’s hard work paid off when McLaren Macomb became the county’s first verified Level II Trauma Center. Now, the hospital can celebrate its continued record of excellence. In April, the ACS renewed the hospital’s trauma verification.

Once again, this process required a multidisciplinary effort across several departments.

“The re-verification process involves every department in the hospital, and includes all personnel at some level, from transporters to lab techs to nurses, to physicians,” said Sue Schafer, RN, MSN, trauma program manager.

“Everyone must have a commitment to care for injured patients to maintain the stringent requirements of the American College of Surgeons, which ensure optimal care for our patients.”
Readiness is a key component to high-level trauma care, Schafer said. McLaren Macomb’s trauma surgeons stay at the hospital 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and are able to evaluate the patient in the trauma bay within 15 minutes of arrival.

The surgeons collaborate with the expert physicians in the Emergency Department for rapid stabilization of the patient and to develop an appropriate plan of care.

“The Trauma Service is obligated to review patient care at every level and to initiate process change that promotes better care for the patients,” she said.

Trauma facts:

• McLaren Macomb became the county’s first verified Trauma Center in 2010.
• Verified trauma centers must be dedicated to continually improving the care they provide. The Trauma Service is a member of the Michigan Trauma Quality Improvement Program (MTQIP), a voluntary Collaborative Quality Initiative (CQI) with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network, coordinated by the University of Michigan.
• They also provide injury prevention programs for the community, including safe driving workshops, classes for seniors to help prevent falls, plus internet and bicycle safety.
• The verification has helped to increase the volume of patient visits to McLaren Macomb’s emergency room. With more than 64,000 patient visits last year, it remains one of the busiest in the area.