Kansas health officials have designated a Nemaha County hospital as a Level-IV trauma center. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced the change Wednesday for Sabetha Community Hospital in Sabetha.
The facility, along with Mitchell County Hospital Health Systems in Beloit, are the first hospitals in Kansas to receive Level IV trauma center designation. KDHE was given legislative authority earlier this year to begin designating Level IV trauma centers.
Dr. James Longabaugh is the Emergency Medical Director at Sabetha, and sits on Kansas’ Advisory Committee on Trauma. Longabaugh says he’s delighted all their hard work over the last year have paid off, but he was quick to point out his hope that all community hospitals in Kansas achieve the designation.
“I think there are going to be quite a few small hospitals across Kansas that will achieve this designation,” Longabaugh said. “Hopefully all 84 critical access hospitals in Kansas will, that’s going to be our goal, is to try to get everybody included in this.”
“It will help severely injured Kansans do better overall.”
State trauma designation is a voluntary process that provides confirmation that a hospital has demonstrated its commitment to providing the highest quality trauma care for all injured patients. To earn designation, the hospital must have the necessary equipment and resources needed for trauma care.
“Trauma center designation is one component of a comprehensive statewide trauma system designed to get patients with life-threatening injuries to a hospital with the necessary resources,” said Robert Moser, M.D., KDHE Secretary and State Health Officer. “It means these hospitals have met essential criteria that ensure institutional performance and trauma care capability.”
The criteria for designation were established by the American College of Surgeons and endorsed by the State’s Advisory Committee on Trauma.
Over the last year, Longabaugh says doctors and nurses have taken special courses in trauma responses. They’ve also upgraded some equipment in the facility. He says a lot of attention has been paid to the hospital’s performance improvement activities, now geared for the emergency department toward improving trauma outcomes.
There are four separate categories of designation (Level I, II, III & IV) that are awarded by KDHE. Each category has specific criteria that must be met by a facility seeking that level of designation. Level IV trauma centers are community hospitals that provide urgent care for those who are seriously injured and have relationships with other trauma centers if a higher level of care is needed. Sabetha Community Hospital has such a relationship with Stormont Vail HealthCare in Topeka, and the University of Kansas Health Center in Kansas City.
“A trauma center designation recognizes the hospital’s dedication to providing optimal care for those who have been injured in their community. Designated Level IV trauma centers are a vital resource to rural communities when every second matters,” said Moser.