Page 5 - Christiana Care Focus August 2018

then named the Delaware Division, treated trauma victims of all types, though at the time they were mostly car crash victims, said Marilynn Bartley, DNP, FNP-BC, a trauma nurse practitioner who started at the hospital in 1983. In May 1984, the state sent Wilmington Hospital a letter granting it status as the state’s first Level I trauma center. The following year, that designation — and Bartley herself — traveled to Christiana Hospital, though it would be more than a decade before Delaware’s hospitals worked together to form a true
Ttrauma network.
he Delaware Trauma System was created in 1996 through legislation in which the state’s hospitals agreed on a procedure
for picking the facility best suited to a patient’s needs and the fastest way of getting them there. Analyses in 2007 and 2010 found the new system significantly reduced mortality among the state’s most seriously injured patients.
The nature of trauma also changed over the years. Once dominated by motor vehicle crashes, major causes of traumatic injury now include gun violence and falls among older adults, Laskowski-Jones said.
Until recently, Wilmington Hospital was called a “participating trauma hospital”
in the state trauma system. This meant
that it could provide basic care to patients walking in off the street, but virtually all injured patients would be transported to Christiana Hospital. In the past several years, Wilmington Hospital started to undergo a series of changes that positioned it to regain its status as a trauma center.
At the core of these upgrades was the $210 million transformation project, which included a new surgical suite and an emergency department that doubled in size.
Meanwhile, the hospital benefited from advantages that positioned it to step up to the challenge of higher-level trauma care.
Joan Pirrung, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, director of clinical operations for the trauma programs at Christiana Hospital and Wilmington Hospital, said the decision to become a trauma center was motivated by demand from the community.
“We knew Wilmington Hospital staff already provided excellent care as a participating trauma center, but there were patients who had to be transferred to Christiana Hospital for additional resources,” she said. “We knew those resources could be developed here, and we
| Cover Story knew our community members wanted to
stay close to home. Becoming a Level III trauma center was the right thing to do.”
In addition to its preparedness to meet the readiness criteria outlined by the American College of Surgeons, the hospital had established assets.
First, Wilmington Hospital is unique among Level III trauma centers in that it is home to both surgical residents and trauma nurse practitioners who can supplement the work of the trauma surgeons.
“Any institution with residents and other graduate level practitioners has benefits,” Dr. Arango said. “Patients are seen by more doctors, and we can help train the next generation of trauma doctors.”
Second, the hospital treats more patients than many Level III trauma centers, with 1,000 a year, including 600 admissions. Higher patient volume means individual patients are more likely to be seen by medical professionals who have treated their condition before.
Pirrung said the nursing staff’s expanded trauma education, training and experience in all areas of the hospital where a trauma patient may visit have led them to develop what she calls “competent confidence.”
CONTINUED
Nicole DiBattista, BSN, RN, CEN, Allison Przybylski, BSN, RN,
Marilynn Bartley, DNP, FNP-BC, and Wilmington Hospital Trauma Program Manager Mary Lamborn, MSN, MBA, CEN, RNC-OB, C-EFM, speed a patient for treatent within Wilmington Hospital Emergency Department.
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