Blake Hospital Gets State Approval as Level II Trauma Center

Blake Medical Center has received state approval from the Florida Department of Health to operate as a provisional Level II trauma center in Manatee County.

As a provisional Level II trauma center, the medical center began accepting serious trauma cases over the weekend. For residents in Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties that should mean shorter travel times to the hospital after life threatening accidents and emergencies.

"We are pleased to have received provisional approval for our Level II trauma center," Dan Friedrich, president and CEO at Blake said in a prepared statement. The hospital was approved at midnight on Saturday and has "already begun providing this life-saving service to our community."

The next step is for the trauma center to become "verified," which is a change from its provisional status. The center must meet certain standards and undergo a final assessment, which will be in 2013.

Blake must show that the level of patient care includes enhanced clinical staffing and medical equipment capabilities to ensure prompt critical care to traumatically injured patients.

According to the state DOH, a trauma center is required to provide trauma surgeons, neurosurgeons and other surgical and non-surgical specialists and medical personnel, equipment and facilities for immediate or followup treatment for severely injured patients, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

While Blake received state approval to operate its trauma center, several Florida hospitals, include Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, are suing the state health department claiming new trauma centers are unnecessary.

They argue that diverting trauma patients will harm existing trauma centers that are struggling to survive. There are currently 22 verified trauma centers in the state.

"I do understand that this matter is still under administrative law appeal, but until a judicial or quasi-judicial officer with proper jurisdiction enjoins the orders of State EMS, that agency's directive is what we will follow," Robert Eschenfelder, a deputy county attorney for the county told Ronald Koper, Chief of Manatee County Emergency Medical Services in an e-mail on Saturday.

Blake got the news over the weekend in a letter sent from Victor Johnson, interim division director of Emergency Medical Operations for the state.

According to that letter, Blake Medical Center has "successfully completed the provisional review phase of the Level II trauma center approval process" and can begin operating as a provisional Level II trauma center.

According to the outline process, Blake will operate the trauma center through Jan. 19 while the state reviews the full application for any errors, omissions, deficiencies or problems.

If there are any issues with the application the hospital will have until March 20, 2012, to remedy the problems. The second-phase assessment should be completed in May 2012 and then the third phase of review will begin.

If all goes well with the review process, the hospital would receive final approval in early 2013 to operate as a Level II trauma center.

Of course, that assumes that the hospitals fighting Blake's designation as a trauma center do not when their appeals.