New Holy Spirit Level II Trauma Center Saves Lives.

I am a Geisinger Holy Spirit employee: The following solely represents my views only and do not represent and are not endorsed by Geisinger Holy Spirit.

I did a little digging into the significance of the new Trauma Center at Holy Spirit Hospital. The following information outlines the difference between Level I and Level II trauma centers, as found on the American Trauma Society website. I discovered that this is a very significant addition the Greater Harrisburg area, as the nearest trauma centers within a 50 mile radius are currently Penn State Hershey (Level I) at 16 miles away from Holy Spirit; Well Span (Level I) at 32 miles away; and Lancaster General (Level II) at 42 miles away. The proximity of the new Holy Spirit Trauma Center, cuts down transfer times, saving precious minutes for victims of trauma in our area.

Here are the criteria for Level I and Level II trauma centers:

Level I

Level I Trauma Center is a comprehensive regional resource that is a tertiary care facility central to the trauma system. A Level I Trauma Center is capable of providing total care for every aspect of injury – from prevention through rehabilitation.

Elements of Level I Trauma Centers Include: 

• 24-hour in-house coverage by general surgeons, and prompt availability of care in specialties such as orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology, internal medicine, plastic surgery, oral and maxillofacial, pediatric and critical care. 
• Referral resource for communities in nearby regions.
• Provides leadership in prevention, public education to surrounding communities.
• Provides continuing education of the trauma team members.
• Incorporates a comprehensive quality assessment program.
• Operates an organized teaching and research effort to help direct new innovations in trauma care.
• Program for substance abuse screening and patient intervention.
• Meets minimum requirement for annual volume of severely injured patients.

Level II

A Level II Trauma Center is able to initiate definitive care for all injured patients.

Elements of Level II Trauma Centers Include:

• 24-hour immediate coverage by general surgeons, as well as coverage by the specialties of orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology and critical care. 
• Tertiary care needs such as cardiac surgery, hemodialysis and microvascular surgery may be referred to a Level I Trauma Center. 
• Provides trauma prevention and to continuing education programs for staff. 
• Incorporates a comprehensive quality assessment program.