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Establishing the critical mass of human expertise, technology,
and ancillary support systems necessary to provide full-scale
trauma care is a complex and expensive process. That’s
why only a limited number of Level I Trauma Centers have
been designated in New Jersey. The key elements that differentiate
the New Jersey Trauma Center from other fine facilities
throughout the region include: Experience
Studies have shown that the more experience the staff
has with high-risk surgical situations, the better the
patient's chances are for survival.
The American College of Surgeons suggests that an
appropriate level of experience can be obtained by treating
600-1,000 trauma patients each year. More than 3,000
trauma patients are admitted to the New Jersey Trauma
Center at University Hospital on an annual basis.
Availability of Resources
Because every minute counts during the Golden Hour,
the NJ Trauma Center provides the following resources
on an immediate basis:
- A Board-certified trauma surgeon in-house, 24-hours
per day.
- A designated trauma team to ensure continuity of
care throughout the patient's stay in the hospital.
- Four Critical Care Rooms and a Shock-Trauma Room
for those situations in which the patient cannot be
moved to the Surgical Suite.
- Operating Rooms staffed 24-hours per day to accommodate
trauma cases.
- A Surgical Intensive Care Unit staffed by specially-trained
nurses and with physician coverage in the unit 24-hours
per day.
- A Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit and a Pediatric
Special Care Unit -- both designed to care for the
most critically ill patients.
Special Services
The New Jersey Trauma Center offers an array of special
services for those cases that require a very specific
form of expertise:
- A microsurgical limb replantation team, available
24-hours a day, to treat severely damaged or severed
limbs.
- An in-house neurosurgical staff with particular
expertise in spinal cord and head injuries.
- Specialized immediate orthopedic care and long-term
rehabilitative procedures are available for injuries
to the musculo-skeletal system, including serious
sports-related trauma.
- Specialized autologous transfusion procedures allow
the use of the patient's own blood during surgery,
thus significantly limiting the risk of transfusion-related
complications. The Hospital's extensive in-house blood
bank system ensures immediate availability of blood
products for cases with severe blood loss.
- A social worker dedicated to trauma patients and
their families to facilitate the continuity of patient
care through discharge.
- A trauma surgical unit staffed by nurses experienced
in caring for trauma patients throughout their convalescence.
- A trauma follow-up clinic where all trauma patients
are assessed after discharge for referral to appropriate
post-discharge treatment and rehabilitation, if needed.
Field Support
The New Jersey Trauma Center is supported in its efforts
by the University Hospital Emergency Medical Services
(EMS) Department. EMS provides basic life support service
in Newark and advanced life support service in Newark,
Orange, East Orange, the Newark-Elizabeth Seaport and
the Newark International Airport. University Hospital
EMS is one of the most active emergency medical services
in the nation.
- The Regional Emergency Medical Communications System,
(REMCS), the communication center for University Hospital
EMS, coordinates more than 125,000 requests for emergency
medical services annually via a sophisticated computer
aided dispatch system.
- Rapid transport to the NJ Trauma Center from throughout
Northern New Jersey is facilitated by NorthSTAR, the
air medical helicopter based at University Hospital.
This state-of-the-art air medical intensive care unit
allows advanced pre-hospital treatment to be provided
to trauma and critically ill patients while in transit
to the trauma center.
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