Sunrise awaits trauma center OK

David Kihara

Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005 | 10:50 a.m.

Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center has recently completed its Level 2 trauma center but is currently waiting for the state to grant it a license to open and operate, county and medical officials said.

"We are ready, and we expect approval any day now," Sunrise spokeswoman Glenda McCartney said this morning.

When certified by the state, Sunrise will be the second trauma center in the county after University Medical Center.

Sunrise was required to complete a series of training procedures and equipment acquisitions before it could be certified, Rory Chetelat, the county's emergency medical services manager, said during a meeting of the Regional Trauma Advisory Committee on Wednesday. The preparations were, for the most part, completed in January, Chetelat said.

A Level 2 trauma center must have a certain number of surgeons and an anesthesiologist on call 24 hours a day, while a Level 1 trauma center must have the same number of surgeons and anesthesiologists plus broad education and prevention programs, he said.

St. Rose Dominican Hospitals' Siena Campus is also set to become a trauma center, though the hospital is not yet as far along as Sunrise, said Mike Williams, the president of the Abaris Group, a consulting firm that specializes in emergency and outpatient services and is working with the county on creating adequate trauma services.

St. Rose Dominican will be likely become a Level 3 trauma center, meaning it will have a surgeon on call, Williams said.

On Jan. 5, Williams reported that Jan. 17 was the target date when trauma services at Sunrise would begin, according to minutes from the meeting.

Williams did not comment on why the state still had not certified Sunrise for trauma services, saying only that Sunrise "is still waiting but is up and running."

During Wednesday's meeting, the committee discussed edits to the draft trauma plan, a document not available to the public that is a comprehensive plan for the county's trauma services.

Also on Wednesday, UMC announced that it had recently received a renewal of its designation as a Level 1 trauma center by the American College of Surgeons, a professional association that verifies the services of centers that volunteer to be reviewed.

The association classifies trauma centers on a scale of Levels 1 to 4, with Level 1 indicating a facility provides the most comprehensive level of care. That care would include services for all forms and stages of injury, from prevention to rehabilitation, the association said.

The formal designation also verifies that UMC provides 24-hour general surgery services, that specialists in a range of subjects are available quickly and that the facility shows a commitment to public education and research in the field of trauma care, the association said.

UMC first met the Level 1 criteria in 1998.

It is the only trauma center in Nevada to have earned the designation, which is good for three years. Washoe Medical Center in Reno, the only other trauma center in the state reviewed by the association, has earned a Level 2 designation, according to the association.