Delaware first responders and hospitals recognized for 20 years of saving lives

When someone is seriously injured, seconds or moments can make the difference between life and death. To increase the chance of survival and reduce the chance of permanent disability, Delaware created an integrated, statewide trauma system 20 years ago that begins with a 9-1-1 call and does not end until after the patient receives high-quality hospital care.

The Delaware Trauma System members include 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Centers, Emergency Medical Services providers of basic and advanced life support, fire and police agencies, air medical transport, hospital emergency trauma teams, operating rooms and intensive care units. The system includes the helicopters one might see in the sky, the ambulance one might see on the road and the emergency room medical personnel and surgeons that could save a loved one.

To celebrate the men and women of the trauma system, dozens of medical professionals and first responders filled the House of Representatives chambers at Legislative Hall Oct. 11, joined by state and local officials to mark the 20th anniversary of the Delaware Trauma System.

Delaware has one of the nation's few inclusive statewide trauma systems in which every acute care hospital participates. The state's trauma system is credited with saving 1,319 lives and caring for 101,000 seriously injured people since 2000; this is an almost 50 percent decrease in the mortality rate in that time. The Delaware mortality rate is now consistently lower than the national rate reported by the federal National Trauma Data Bank.

"No matter where people are injured in Delaware, they enter a system of care with a goal of ensuring that trauma patients are treated using the most up-to-date standard of care and in the facility best equipped to manage their injuries," said Department of Health and Social Services Secretary Rita Landgraf.

The DHSS Division of Public Health Office of Emergency Medical Services oversees the system from the time traumatic incidents occur through the full continuum of care. OEMS has played a critical role in building one coordinated system of care that functions as a statewide team of caregivers. The Delaware General Assembly and then-Gov. Tom Carper created the Delaware Statewide Trauma System via legislation in July 1996.

Gov. Jack Markell and U.S. Sen. Tom Carper offered their best wishes in prepared statements:

"Delaware has a vast network of prepared, highly trained professionals to ensure that injured patients receive fast, efficient and life-saving care," said Markell. "The men and women of the Delaware trauma system are heroes every day as they work to save lives and reduce the impact of serious injuries."

"Some 20 years later, I am thrilled to celebrate a system we started to help save the lives of countless Delawareans," said Carper. "To all the people that deliver the continuity of care in Delaware's Trauma System: thank you for all that you do to make Delaware a better place to live and work."

"Seriously injured people have a much better chance of surviving now than they did 20 years ago because the state, our first responders and hospitals are synchronized in their care and treatment of trauma patients," said Division of Public Health Director Dr. Karyl Rattay. "I am proud of the work of the DPH Office of Emergency Medical Services and grateful to everyone in the entire trauma system for their dedication and commitment to saving lives." Rattay also led a moment of silence for the men and women who lost their lives in the line of duty.

When hospitals meet the rigorous standards for verification by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, they receive state designations as Trauma Centers:

· Christiana Hospital of the Christiana Care Health System is designated a Regional Level 1 Trauma Center. A Regional Resource Trauma Center has the capability of providing leadership and comprehensive, definitive care for every aspect of injury from prevention through rehabilitation.

· Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington assumes a leadership role in caring for injured children. As a Pediatric Regional Level 1 Trauma Center, it has the capability of providing leadership and comprehensive, definitive pediatric trauma care for the most severely injured children within its geographic area.

· Delaware has seven Community Level 3 Trauma Centers: Beebe Healthcare, Bayhealth Kent General Hospital, Bayhealth Milford Memorial Hospital, Nanticoke Memorial Hospital, Saint Francis Healthcare (provisional), Wilmington Hospital of Christiana Care Health System (provisional) and Peninsula Regional Medical Center (Salisbury, Md.) via reciprocity. Community Level 3 Trauma Centers provide assessment, resuscitation, stabilization and triage for all trauma patients. They arrange timely patient transfers for those who need a regional trauma or specialty center, and deliver care to those patients whose needs can be met by the facility's resources.

James P. Marvel Jr., MD, FACS of Beebe Healthcare was among 14 Trauma System leaders recognized for their 20 years of continuous service.

Also, State Sen. Bruce C. Ennis, D-Smyrna, read a joint resolution recognizing the trauma system's anniversary, and trauma survivor Melanie Pertain shared how the trauma system helped her and her family after they were involved in a serious motor vehicle crash.

Trauma can result from intentional as well as unintentional injuries. Unintentional injury, the leading cause of death and disability of Delawareans and visitors between the ages of 1 and 44 years, results from falls, burns, roadway crashes involving motor vehicles, bicycles or pedestrians and from farm and industrial incidents. Intentional injuries result from violence, assaults, shootings, stabbings and suicides.

Falls, highway and assault-related injuries make up more than 77 percent of all injury-related hospitalizations in Delaware.

For more information, go to www.dhss.delaware.gov and search Delaware Trauma System.