Sacred Heart Hospital has received a Level IV Trauma Care Facility designation from the state of Wisconsin.

Staff from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services reviewed the hospital in an onsite visit this past summer.  In a letter attached to the certificate of designation received by hospital administration, Tim Sieger, Deputy Administrator for the Division of Public Health stated “Your hospital is to be commended for its ongoing commitment to quality care for the trauma patients in your area.” Sieger continued “I also want to thank you and your staff for your continued leadership role and dedication in the development of our state trauma system.”

“Providing high quality trauma care is definitely a team effort.  Receiving our Level IV Trauma Care Facility Designation demonstrates the ability of our staff and our facility in Tomahawk to provide this level of care to people in our area when they need it most,” said Monica Hilt, president of Sacred Heart-Saint Mary’s Hospital.

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.

“Our staff works hard to keep the patient first in everything we do and to consistently deliver this level of care every day for Tomahawk and the surrounding communities,” said Jill Spieckerman, vice president patient care services at Sacred Heart-Saint Mary’s Hospital. “Mark Banas, DO trauma medical director, Paula Gebauer, RN trauma coordinator, Marguerite Carroll, RN trauma registrar and the entire emergency department staff, as well as all those throughout hospital departments that collaborate when called upon, are to be commended for their efforts in this successful review.”  Spieckerman continued, “Doug Duchac, ambulance manager for Sacred Heart-Saint Mary’s Hospitals is also to be commended as he was specifically mentioned in our survey for his ongoing planning for Harley’s Fall Ride.”

The notice of Level IV Trauma designation for Sacred Heart Hospital comes on the heels of two consecutive years of patient satisfaction scores greater than the 90th percentile for the emergency department.