Kansas City, MO — The trauma center at Research Medical Center has been verified as a Level 1 Trauma Center through February 23, 2024, by the Verification Review Committee (VRC), a committee of the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). The Level I verification is the highest possible ranking for trauma centers and recognizes the hospital’s dedication to providing the best possible care for all injured patients, including 24-hour in-house coverage by highly trained physicians, critical care nurses and support staff offering expert care in specialties such as orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology, internal medicine, burns and critical care.
Research Medical Center is part of HCA Midwest Health, Kansas City’s most comprehensive and leading healthcare provider.
The verification was received following a comprehensive on-site review conducted by a team of reviewers experienced in the field of trauma. Using the COT’s current Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient manual as a guideline, the team determined if the specific criteria were met for Level 1verification.
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. The actual establishment and the designation of trauma centers is the function of local, regional, or state health care systems agencies, such as the local emergency medical services (EMS) authority. Research Medical Center received the Level 1 trauma center designation from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the highest rating for emergency services, in 2011.
“I am proud that our hospital has received this high honor, a result of a tremendous amount of dedication and teamwork,” says Research Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Ashley McClellan, FACHE, MBA, MHA.
“The entire Research Medical Center family strives to provide high-quality, compassionate care to every patient experiencing the most vulnerable time of their lives.
“An abiding principle of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma is to ‘ensure that the needs of all injured patients are addressed wherever they are injured and wherever they receive care’ which aligns with Research Medical Center’s physicians, nurses and staff at the heart and soul of living our Mission, ‘Above all else: The care and improvement of human life.’”
“This prestigious verification is considered the gold-standard of trauma care,” says Research Medical Center Trauma Medical Director Mark Lieser, M.D. “Our team of highly-specialized surgeons, trauma nurses and other healthcare professionals are always prepared when patients need advanced care for life-threatening and critical injuries.”
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. Verified trauma centers must meet
the 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.
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.
For more information on Research Medical Center and its full spectrum of comprehensive services, visit Research Medical Center.