Choosing a trauma center with even a “minor” injury benefits all ages.
Not all hospital and free-standing emergency departments are created equal.
Patients with injuries — ranging from the “major” catastrophic broken bones to seemingly everyday sprains, strains and twists that cause a prolonged limp — will benefit in the long run from an evaluation and treatment in a trauma center.
What is a trauma center?
A trauma center is a designation obtained by an emergency department that is specially staffed, trained and equipped to provide care for patients who’ve suffered an injury.
These injuries could be those sustained in a significant car accident or open wounds to a broken arm resulting from an incident at home.
While emergency departments are able to care for a variety of conditions and ailments — some life threatening — a trauma center verification is one that’s earned from a national governing body, specifically the American College of Surgeons.
Why choose a trauma center?
A broken arm, deep laceration or puncture wound, though not life threatening, does require immediate treatment, and the emergency room is the proper setting.
But when it comes to the level of care within that emergency department, a trauma center provides added value, and every age can benefit because trauma centers have multiple medical specialties available to thoroughly evaluate the injury to create a comprehensive care plan, whether the patient arrives by ambulance or walks through the main entrance.
For instance, a 75-year-old man falls in his home and breaks his arm. Within the trauma center, the patient initially meets the emergency physician, who can bring in an orthopedic surgeon to further evaluate the break, but also bring a neurologist to evaluate the patient for a concussion in case he hit his head in the fall and a cardiologist to evaluate the heart.
On the other end of the trauma center, a 7-year-old girl comes in after having fallen off the deck and breaking her leg. An orthopedic trauma surgeon can evaluate the break and set the bone to ensure the bone’s healing will not interferer with her ability to walk properly as she grows.
The centers, too, are equipped to immediately evaluate and treat the most serious of injuries.
Trauma services at McLaren
Learn more about the level of care at McLaren’s Trauma Centers throughout the state.
Click here Emergency care at McLaren Oakland and McLaren Clarkston
Learn more and check-in online to the McLaren Clarkston emergency department.
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