Howard Young Medical Center (HYMC) was recently designated as a Level III Trauma Center by the State of Wisconsin.

The two state surveyors, a physician and nurse, performed a comprehensive review of processes including hospital tour, staff interviews, chart review, performance improvement review and mock trauma response.

“Being designated as a Level III Trauma Center reinforces our commitment to the community and confirms the excellent care our team provides in the most serious of injuries or conditions,” said Roderick Brodhead, MD, Emergency Department Medical Director, Eagle River Memorial Hospital and Howard Young Medical Center.

Wisconsin’s integrated system of trauma identifies hospitals as trauma care facilities by using four levels. This system recognizes that all hospitals in Wisconsin play an important role in providing optimal treatment to the injured patient. It is imperative that patients are delivered in a timely manner to the closest appropriate hospital matching resources to the needs of the severely injured patient.

The following defines each level for Trauma Care Facilities:

• Level I: Hospital provides leadership and total care for every aspect of traumatic injury from prevention through rehabilitation, including research. (example: University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison)
• Level II: Hospital provides the initial definitive trauma care regardless of the severity of injury but differs from Level I in teaching and research capability. (example: Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield)
• Level III: Hospital provides assessment, resuscitation, stabilization, and emergency surgery and arranges transfer to a level I or II facility for definitive surgical and intensive care as necessary. (example: Howard Young Medical Center in Woodruff)
• Level IV: Facility provides stabilization and advanced trauma life support prior to patient transfer to a Level I or II. (example: Eagle River Memorial Hospital in Eagle River)
• Unclassified: Hospital that has chosen not to be part of the Trauma Care System or has not been approved as a Level I, II, III or IV.

The surveyors provided their feedback and recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services trauma committee who reviews the survey results and makes the final decision on awarding the requested trauma designation. HYMC received no citations during the survey and received documents from the state awarding HYMC designation as a Level III Trauma Center.

“Our patient satisfaction scores for the Emergency Department have been consistently in the top 5 percent among our national cohort,” said Sheila Clough, President, Howard Young Health Care. “This state designation illustrates Howard Young Medical Center’s commitment to excellence in trauma care for our community.”