![]() The advantage of adding trauma centers is that it reduces travel time for patients, which medical officials say is particularly important for traumatic injuries. While the central region of the state, which includes metro Phoenix, has the largest number of trauma cases, it also has the lowest per capita rate of trauma cases in Arizona, according to the 2013 State Trauma Advisory Board's annual report. The ADHS sees rural Arizona as an area that needs more help. "At the present time, I don't see the need to be changing how (the ADHS) manages the designation process," she said. Urban Arizona has excellent trauma care, and the ADHS is managing the designation of trauma centers well, said Debbie Johnston, senior vice president of policy development for the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association. With the addition of Chandler Regional, there are now 33, though not all are Level 1. It does not consider whether the center is needed to serve the population.Īt the time of the ACS report, there were 25 trauma centers in the state. The application process to become a Level 1 trauma center, while more detailed than in past years, determines whether a facility has the capacity to function as a trauma center. "It's not a methodology to say this facility should stay or this facility should go," he said. The department studies statistics to determine whether the needs of patients are being met and whether patients are getting the right trauma care in a timely manner, Mullins said. The Arizona Department of Health Services does not have the authority to dictate the number or location of trauma centers, said Terry Mullins, chief of the state Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Trauma System. The ACS suggested a moratorium on trauma centers until the needs assessment was completed. State officials asked that organization to conduct a review of the statewide system after a period of rapid expansion of Arizona's trauma system, according to the 2012 report.Īmong the "priority recommendations" was requiring any new trauma center to demonstrate need before it could receive a trauma designation. "It would be ideal that we would follow the recommendations of the American College of Surgeons," Mitchell said. Mitchell said that the system is working well in the Phoenix area and that more Level 1 trauma centers are not needed. "It may not change anything at this point, but I think we're going to have to be very wise with our resources," said Frank Mitchell, medical director of trauma and surgical critical care at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center, a Level 1 center. "We are best positioned to serve the growing needs of the communities we serve."Īdding Level 1 centers in the Valley has been controversial, particularly after a national trauma group suggested that the state hold off on designating any new centers. It's not necessarily downtown," said Forrest "Dell" Moore, trauma medical director at Chandler Regional. It is the first new non-pediatric Level 1 trauma center in the Valley since the state began designating them about eight years ago. The Chandler facility also will serve Casa Grande and the growing Pinal County communities on the fringe of the Valley. There are five Level 1 trauma centers in central Phoenix and one in Scottsdale. Leaders in the southeast Valley, which is home to more than 1 million people, have been calling for a trauma center for years. In the past, many of them would have been driven past the Dignity Health hospital to a Level 1 trauma center. "It really is an advantage to have more trauma centers strategically located."Ĭhandler Regional expects to see more than 1,200 trauma patients annually. "The chances for your outcome being good lessens with every minute I have to travel," said Keith Welch, battalion chief with the Chandler Fire Department. Proponents say the new and planned centers are long overdue and willhelp patients by reducing travel time when minutes can mean the difference between life and death. Level 1 is a trauma center's highest designation, requiring the hospital to be prepared at all times with medical specialists and equipment to immediately treat serious trauma injuries. Meanwhile, West Valley Hospital in Goodyear is preparing an application and hopes to accept Level 1 trauma patients as early as this summer, according to CEO Stan Holm. ![]() Monday, Chandler Regional Medical Center is set to open the first Level 1 trauma center in the southeast Valley and the first in the metro area beyond a cluster in Phoenix and Scottsdale. A trauma center equipped to treat seriously injured patients has come to the southeast Valley, and a similar facility could be in the West Valley soon. ![]()
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