Volume 27 • No. 7
Emergency department expansion, renovation will enhance care
Leadership, teamwork pay off in successful trauma survey
Results of statewide hospital survey provide benchmarking data
New rules limiting residents' work hours will require increased efficiency
Lawyer and medical ethicist helps physicians, families navigate ethical dilemmas
Trauma program QI projects
Several quality-improvement projects were developed by the trauma program's faculty and staff, with assistance from SHC quality managers, including projects that accomplished the following:
Developed
and implemented evidence-based guidelines specifying under what conditions
the cervical spine should undergo X-ray or CT studies. The use of these
diagnostic procedures was previously inconsistent.
Established
a research-based protocol whereby patients with traumatic brain injury
are given low-dose subcutaneous anti-coagulants to prevent the development
of deep vein thrombosis.
Improved
the documented response time of on-call physicians when paged to the hospital
for a trauma case. The documented response time for on-call physician
arrival at the hospital within 15 minutes of being paged, increased to
95 percent from less than 40 percent.
Added
to the trauma response team a pediatric pharmacist who now checks and
advises on appropriate medication dosing for pediatric major trauma patients.
Established
an early intervention protocol whereby traumatic brain injury patients
with a high likelihood of taking anti-coagulants have their blood tested,
and are then treated with blood plasma and other medications if anti-coagulants
are present.
