Bronson Re-Verified as Level I Trauma Center

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The American College of Surgeons (ACS) recently re-verified Bronson Methodist Hospital as a Level I Trauma Center. This indicates that the ACS recognizes Bronson as providing the highest level of care for critically injured patients.

First verified by the ACS as a Level I Trauma Center in 1989, Bronson has successfully met the increasingly difficult re-verification standards every three years since. With this re-verification, Bronson has held this designation longer than any hospital in southwest Michigan.

Frank J. Sardone, Bronson president and CEO, said, “As southwest Michigan’s first trauma center and with advanced capabilities as a chest pain emergency center and stroke center of excellence, Bronson has the resources and experience people have come to count on in all types of emergencies. Critical care is not a one department service, it requires dedicated staff and services throughout the healthcare system to achieve the best possible outcomes for critically ill and injured adults and children.”

Being a verified Level I Trauma Center means that Bronson is capable of caring for critically injured trauma patients immediately, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In addition to a full-service emergency department, the hospital has specialized medical staff including a full trauma surgery team, orthopedists, neurologists, anesthesiologists, radiologists, thoracic surgeons, nursing staff, and ancillary staff in the hospital around the clock. Bronson is southwest Michigan’s largest trauma and emergency center seeing more than 80,000 emergency patients and about 1,500 trauma patients each year.

A trauma is any life-threatening occurrence, either accidental or intentional, that causes injuries. Common causes of trauma include motor vehicle crashes, falls, burns, knife and gunshot wounds and sport or recreational injuries. Trauma is the leading cause of death for persons ages 1-34, however, research shows patients who get to the hospital within one hour of injury have a better chance of survival.

“Excellent trauma care depends on getting the right patient to the right place at the right time,” said Scott Davidson, M.D., medical director Trauma Surgery Services. “We are proud that the ACS has recognized the high level of care we provide to trauma patients in the region. Bronson’s commitment to having a team of experts on site around the clock ready to care for these patients is part of our mission to provide excellent healthcare services in this community.”

Level I Trauma Centers are also expected to be leaders in injury prevention, public education and research. Bronson’s injury prevention programs reached nearly 15,000 people in 2007. In addition, Bronson works with local and regional emergency medical response (EMS) agencies to provide education and training for first responders to injuries. According to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, a one percent reduction in injury saves $3 billion in annual economic costs. A 3.5 percent reduction in injury would cover the full costs of regional trauma centers throughout the United States.

Bronson’s trauma program serves as a central resource for a nine-county area in southwest Michigan and the northern counties of Indiana. Bronson staff work closely with community hospitals throughout this region to coordinate the safe, timely transfer of patients who require the expertise and resources available only at a Level I Trauma Center.

About Bronson Methodist Hospital

Bronson Methodist Hospital, located at 601 John St. in downtown Kalamazoo, Mich., is the flagship of Bronson Healthcare Group, a not-for-profit healthcare system serving all of southwest Michigan and northern Indiana. With 380 licensed beds and all private rooms, Bronson Methodist Hospital provides care in virtually every specialty—cardiology, orthopedics, surgery, emergency medicine, neurology, oncology—with advanced capabilities in critical care as a Level I Trauma Center; in neurological care as a Joint Commission certified Primary Stroke Center; in cardiac care as the region’s first accredited Chest Pain Emergency Center; in obstetrics as the leading BirthPlace and only high-risk pregnancy center in southwest Michigan, and in pediatrics as one of only six children's hospitals in the state. The hospital is the recipient of the 2005 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest presidential honor for quality and organizational performance excellence, and was recognized as one of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals for cardiovascular care in 2008 by Thomson Reuters.

Bronson Healthcare Group is one of Kalamazoo’s largest employers and has been ranked for six consecutive years by Working Mother magazine as one of the nation’s 100 best companies to work for. Annually, Bronson provides more than $83 million in community benefits through outreach and charitable care for the un- and under-insured. Bronson also serves the largest percentage of Medicaid patients of any Michigan hospital outside of southeast Michigan.

About The American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational association of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice. The College currently has over 74,000 members, including more than 4,000 Fellows in other countries, making it the largest organization of surgeons in the world. There are presently more than 2,600 Associate Fellows. For more information, visit facs.org.

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