Trauma Program
Miami Valley Hospital's (MVH) Shaw Emergency and Trauma Center is the busiest emergency room in the state of Ohio. Each year, the staff (including board-certified emergency physicians and emergency-trained nurses) provides care to over 95,000 patients. The facility was expanded and renovated in 2000 to make it one of the region's most current emergency care facilities as well.
The 71-bed emergency department (ED) has private rooms for all patients. Each room is equipped with a computer for bedside registration, clinical documentation, and order entry, which allows patients to receive care more quickly. The unit includes its own imaging facility, so patients can get a CT scan without moving elsewhere in the hospital. The dedicated stat lab is open 24 hours a day for immediate testing and fast results. All aspects are focused on getting patients the right care as quickly as possible.
MVH's Level One Trauma Center and close proximity to CareFlight's home base a few floors above give the Emergency Department the ability to handle the region's most serious emergencies. The MVH ED also has a special Hazmat area to respond to patients exposed to hazardous materials.
The Trauma Program Administration assigns attending surgeons to
respond to the admission of all multisystem trauma patients on a
daily basis. At the present time, there are six general surgeons
who rotate first and second call. The director of the Burn Center
and the chair of the Wright State University School of Medicine Department
of Surgery also take second call. Trauma attendings rotate on a 24-hour
schedule and are activated by the Trauma Alert beeper system. This
attending works closely with the Trauma chief resident to coordinate
all services required for the admission of the trauma patient. The
Trauma Program also has a Trauma ICU attending on call. This attending
rotates on a weekly basis, changing Monday at 7 a.m. The Trauma ICU
attending makes daily rounds in the ICU and on the surgical units
to assist the Trauma Service residents with the coordination of in-house
trauma care. This attending also provides administrative coverage,
facilitates flow through the hospital and provides administrative
consultation and support. Trauma attendings are appointed by and
credentialed by the Trauma director, who is also chair of the Section
of Trauma Surgery.
The Trauma Service consists of one surgical team covered by a PGY-5
(Trauma chief resident), a PGY-3, a PGY-2 and a PGY-1. This in-house
resident staff covers the admission of all multisystem trauma patients
presenting to the hospital from 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. during the week.
The PGY-2 resident is assigned to cover the patients in ICU. There
is also a PGY-1 resident assigned to the Neurosurgery service. At
night and on weekends/holidays, there is a PGY-4 or PGY-5 in-house
to respond to Trauma Alerts and begin evaluation and treatment of
the patient. If a patient is taken to the O.R., the admitting PGY-5
assumes responsibility for the patient's care. The Trauma attending
participates in all major therapeutic decisions, is present for all
operative procedures, monitors patients in the ICU daily and rounds
on the ward patients on a regular basis.
In addition to the surgical physician coverage provided by the Trauma
Program, there are three trauma nurse specialists (TNS's) who work
with the on-call trauma team to monitor the patient's progress, keep
family members informed, and provide follow up information to family
physicians. There is a TNS in-house seven days a week from 7 a.m.
to 5:30 p.m. to provide trauma case management services.
After the Trauma Service patients are discharged from the hospital,
they are referred to the Trauma Outpatient Clinic. The Trauma Outpatient
Clinic provides follow-up care for trauma patients and their families.
A Trauma attending, the trauma service residents, and the TNS's staff
the Trauma Outpatient Clinic on Monday and Thursday from noon to
4 p.m. for patient appointments.
The Trauma Program is actively involved in several multicenter research
studies including NIH and CDC grants. The Trauma Program is also
involved with several injury prevention projects. Among these are
the CareFlight "Drive Smart" program for teens, a dramatic
demonstration of alcohol related vehicle accidents; Emergency Nurses
C.A.R.E., a slide show provided to high school students describing
the effects of alcohol on judgement and motor skills; and sports
medicine seminars designed to prevent sports related injury.
The Trauma Program promotes helmet safety, gun safety and education
programs to reduce falls in the elderly through its active participation
in the Injury Prevention Center for the Greater Dayton Area with
representatives from six Montgomery County hospitals, Wright State
University School of Medicine and United HealthCare.
The Trauma Program is active in providing comprehensive EMS educations
programs and offers courses for trauma care providers, including
ATLS, TNCC, CATN and BTLS.
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