Bayhealth Emergency and Trauma Center, Kent Campus, Verified as Level III Trauma Center

The trauma center at Bayhealth Hospital Kent Campus has been reverified 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.

"Consistent with our mission of improving the health of our community one life at a time, our teams in the Emergency and Trauma Center at our Kent Campus are committed to providing optimal care to patients when they need us most," said Bayhealth President and CEO Terry Murphy, FACHE. "This nationally-recognized reverification demonstrates our commitment to our community."

Verified trauma centers must meet 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're honored to serve all patients who come to us for emergency and trauma care," said Bayhealth Medical Director of Emergency Services and Clinical Decision Unit Kelly Abbrescia, DO, FACEP. "As the only emergency center in the area, we know our community relies on us to deliver safe, quality care when they need it most. This verification recognizes our teams for providing optimal care for our patients."

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.

There are five 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 an on-site 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.

A Level III verification means the trauma center has a demonstrated ability to provide prompt evaluation, resuscitation, surgery, intensive care and stabilization of injured patients and emergency operations.

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.