Crozer Regional Trauma Center Marks 25th Anniversary

• The Crozer Regional Trauma Center at Crozer-Chester Medical Center is celebrating its 25^th year of providing the regional community with state-of-the-art trauma care.
• The Crozer Regional Trauma Center has been a leader in trauma care since opening its doors in December of 1986 as one of the very first to be accredited by the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation (PTSF).
• Crozer’s trauma team is dedicated to helping patients and their families with the unique needs and challenges of the sudden and sometimes catastrophic effects of traumatic injuries, motor vehicle crashes, falls, gunshot wounds and stabbing wounds.
• Over the past 25 years, the professionals of the Trauma Center have cared for more than 30,000 patients.

The Crozer Regional Trauma Center at Crozer-Chester Medical Center is celebrating its 25^th year of providing the regional community with state-of-the-art trauma care.

The Crozer Regional Trauma Center has been a leader in trauma care since opening its doors in December of 1986 as one of the very first to be accredited by the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation (PTSF). Fifty-three hospitals across the state applied for designation as a trauma center that year, and Crozer was one of only nine hospitals to receive the designation. 

A quarter of a century later, the Crozer Regional Trauma Center remains a regional and state leader in trauma care. It is one of 31 PTSF-accredited trauma centers statewide and remains the only trauma center in Delaware County. The center serves the entire population of Delaware County as well as portions of neighboring counties and states. 

Crozer’s trauma team is dedicated to helping patients and their families with the unique needs and challenges of the sudden and sometimes catastrophic effects of traumatic injuries, motor vehicle crashes, falls, gunshot wounds and stabbing wounds. Over the past 25 years, the professionals of the Trauma Center have cared for over 35,700 patients. During that time, patient volume has increased from about 600 annually to more than 2,500, including more than 450 burn patients treated annually in collaboration with the Nathan Speare Regional Burn Treatment Center.

“I would like to congratulate everyone involved with the Crozer Regional Trauma Center for providing quality trauma care for 25 years. As the only trauma center in Delaware County, our team truly provides an essential service to our community. No matter what time of the day or night, our dedicated specialists are ready to care for our most critically injured patients,” says Joan K. Richards, president and chief executive officer of Crozer-Keystone Health System. 

Basics of the Trauma Center

The Trauma Center opened in 1986 with two full-time staff members – a director of trauma services and a trauma program coordinator – who were supported by a small group of independent surgeons (physicians). Today, the Trauma Center has a dedicated staff and a team that includes dedicated trauma surgeons and trauma nurse practitioners. 

The Trauma Center coordinates the delivery of care to the trauma patient working collaboratively with EMS professionals; Emergency Department physicians and nursing staff; nursing staff in the Operating Room, Shock Trauma Unit, Step Down Unit, 1 West and other units; neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists and other surgical specialists; and professionals in Crozer’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Radiology, Laboratory, Respiratory Therapy, Social Work and Patient Registration departments. The discharge of patients is facilitated by the trauma manager and social worker and supported by rehabilitation specialists.

“Twenty-five years ago, Crozer-Chester Medical Center filled a very important need in Delaware County. Our program has continued to grow and be successful through the years because of the outstanding efforts of so many talented people. What we do is truly a team effort, and I thank everyone for their dedication to serving our community,” says Riad Cachecho, M.D., medical director of the Trauma Center.

The Trauma Center team works closely with our community’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals to provide lifesaving care at the scene of an emergency. When an EMS unit identifies a traumatic injury, it immediately notifies the Trauma Center. The trauma team guides emergency medical technicians and paramedics to provide the most effective care for the patient on the way to Crozer. In turn, the trauma team gathers the information needed to prepare to treat the patient when (s)he arrives.

Trauma patients receive initial treatment at Crozer-Chester Medical Center’s Emergency Department. The facility includes four trauma bays (including one dedicated to burn and pediatric patients) featuring the latest technologies and equipment necessary for life-saving efforts. Among the other features of the facility is a 64-slice CT scanner dedicated exclusively to the care of trauma and emergency patients.

In-Hospital Care

If patients need to be admitted to Crozer, they receive care in the medical center’s Shock Trauma Unit, a 15-bed intensive care unit for our most critically injured patients. Directed by a team of six trauma surgeons, the unit is staffed by a total of 37 trauma nurses and three nurse trauma practitioners who have the specialized training and experience required to care for these injuries. The Shock Trauma Unit reduces time in intensive care and works to help patients continue their recovery following intensive care. Within 48 hours after a patient is discharged from intensive care to the Step-Down Unit, a Shock Trauma Unit nurse visits the patient and consults with step-down nurses to assure continuity of care.

Every morning, Crozer’s multidisciplinary team of surgeons, primary nurses, nurse practitioners, trauma case managers and trauma pharmacists visits each patient at the bedside. The team assesses the patient’s condition and progress, and updates his or her daily care plan. In addition, physicians and trauma nurse practitioners respond to the bedside immediately at the request of the nurse throughout the day. The multidisciplinary team meets once a week with an expanded team of health care professionals, including the trauma program manager, trauma unit nurse manager, physical and occupational therapists, nutritionist and dedicated social worker, to discuss each patient’s condition and progress, care plan and discharge plan.

In addition, Crozer offers a Trauma Surgical Critical Care Intensivist Service. Established in 2006, this service enhances the continuity and quality of care for patients who need complex surgery and who have advanced cardiac or pulmonary diseases that increase their risk for surgery. Intensivists make daily visits/assessments throughout the duration of the patient’s stay.

“Our commitment to providing trauma care is a continuation of our mission to provide health care services to Delaware County and surrounding areas. We are innovative in our clinical practices and are proud of the superior outcomes of our patients who survive otherwise life-ending injuries,” says Debra Lillback, M.S.N., Trauma Program director.  

For more information about the Crozer Regional Trauma Center or the Crozer-Keystone Health System, visit http://crozertrauma.crozer.org.  For more information about trauma outreach in the community, contact Kathy Lehman, R.N., ER3 outreach coordinator, at 1-877-ER3-4030 (877-373-4030).