The trauma center at Fairview Park Hospital has been verified as a Level III Trauma Center by the Verification Review Committee (VRC), an ad hoc committee of the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This achievement recognizes the trauma center’s dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients.
Established by the American College of Surgeons in 1987, the COT’s Consultation/Verification Program for Hospitals promotes the development of trauma centers in which participants provide, not only the hospital resources necessary for trauma care, but also the entire spectrum of care to address the needs of all injured patients. This spectrum encompasses the prehospital phase through the rehabilitation process.
Verified trauma centers must meet the essential criteria that ensure trauma care capability and institutional performance, as outlined by the American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Trauma in its current Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient manual.
“We are proud to be verified as a Level III Trauma Center and to be able to offer this level of care at Fairview Park Hospital,” said Donald R. Avery, FACHE, President and CEO of Fairview Park Hospital. “We have been designated by the state since 2016; however, this is the first time our hospital has been verified by the American College of Surgeons, which is a much more stringent verification process led by an experienced review committee. We were found to have zero deficiencies during the review and verification process, which speaks volumes of the tireless effort by our clinical leadership and staff throughout the year, leading up to the review process. We are pleased to be able to serve our community and surrounding counties at this level of excellence in trauma care.”
The ACS Committee on Trauma’s verification program does not designate trauma centers. Rather, the program provides confirmation that a trauma center has demonstrated its commitment to providing the highest quality trauma care for all injured patients. The actual establishment and the designation of trauma centers is the function of local, regional, or state health care system agencies, such as the local emergency medical services (EMS) authority.
“We are proud Fairview Park is one of only two Level III Trauma centers in Georgia verified by the American College of Surgeons. This ensures we are providing the highest level of care to injured patients in our region. This is accomplished through practice standards, quality control, interdisciplinary meetings, and ongoing review of our outcomes”, commented Fairview Park Hospital Trauma Medical Director, John Polhill, MD.
There are four separate categories of verification in the COT’s program. Each category has specific criteria that must be met by a facility seeking that level of verification. Each hospital has a review by a team of experienced site reviewers, who use the current Resources for the Optimal Care of the Injured Patient manual as a guideline in conducting the survey.
Lynn Grant, RN, and Trauma Program Director at Fairview Park Hospital commented, “Being a Level III Trauma Center is a great asset to our community and the surrounding communities we serve. We have consistently demonstrated the ability to provide timely assessment, surgery, intensive care, and stabilization of the injured patients and emergency operations that come through our facility. It also means we have a comprehensive quality assessment program, transfer agreements for patients that may require more comprehensive care at other Trauma Centers, and allows us to provide back-up care for more rural and community hospitals. It’s an accomplishment that means quality and timely care for the trauma patients that come through our doors.”
The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational association of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical education and practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College has over 72,000 members, and it is the largest association of surgeons in the world. Longstanding achievements have placed the ACS in the forefront of American surgery and have made it an important advocate for all surgical patients.
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