EvergreenHealth’s designation as a Level III Trauma Center was renewed by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) last month.
To achieve this level of certification, the Kirkland-based health system successfully completed the state’s Trauma Designation Site Survey, which it conducts in eligible hospitals across Washington every three years.
As a Level III Trauma Center, EvergreenHealth voluntarily meets stringent requirements for education, equipment and care standards to provide high standards of trauma care for patients in its surrounding community.
“We are committed to upholding a high standard of trauma care as part of our purpose to enrich the health and well-being of every life we touch,” said Bob Malte, CEO of EvergreenHealth in a press release. “Accountability is a core value of our organization, and we continually strive to remain accountable to one another and to our community by delivering exceptional care and service to every patient who comes through our doors. Maintaining our designation as a Level III Trauma Center helps us to live this value and, most importantly, helps our trauma patients to achieve the best clinical outcomes.”
The DOH survey team evaluated EvergreenHealth’s emergency department, as well as other areas of the hospital including the Surgical Care, Critical Care and Progressive Care units. Among its criteria, Level III Trauma Centers must develop a multidisciplinary Trauma Quality Improvement Committee, implement an injury prevention program and have specialized health care providers immediately available to stabilize victims of traumatic injuries.
EvergreenHealth’s emergency department (ED) fulfills the state’s criteria for 24-hour trauma emergency, operative and critical care services, while also meeting standards for prompt assessment, resuscitation, emergency surgery and stabilization of trauma victims.
Today, the Kirkland emergency department includes 38 treatments rooms, including four large trauma and resuscitation rooms close to the emergency entrance; s state-of-the-art digital imaging available right in the ED; a trauma team including emergency physicians and nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, respiratory therapists and imaging technicians, among many others, always standing by and ready to go; and operating rooms with the latest technology available 24 hours a day
Washington state established a five-level trauma system in 1995, which today collectively serves more than 1.8 million Washington residents. Having a tiered trauma care system allows patients to receive quality trauma care closer to home, yet makes the highest standard of trauma care available to them at Harborview Medical Center, our region’s Level I Center, should they need it.
For more information on EvergreenHealth’s designation as a Level III Trauma Center, visit www.evergreenhealth.com/level-
