Cape Cod Healthcare Receives Trauma Center Verification

News release from Cape Cod Healthcare.

HYANNIS, MA — For the first time in its history, Cape Cod Hospital has received verification as a Level III Trauma Center having successfully met requirements set forth by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Official designation status from the ACS and updated EMS points of entry guidelines from Massachusetts Department of Public Health are pending and expected late January.

The establishment of this trauma center is a crucial step toward ensuring community access to specialized, lifesaving care. This distinction reflects the hospital’s ability to provide a high-level of critical care for trauma patients, greatly decreasing the time to treatment and increasing the chances of survival for those who have sustained life-threatening injuries.

To achieve this specialized verification, Cape Cod Hospital voluntarily participated in a rigorous review process conducted by the American College of Surgeons to evaluate and improve hospital trauma care. Cape Cod Hospital has successfully demonstrated the ability to provide prompt assessment, resuscitation, critical care, surgical intervention and stabilization of injured patients.

Additionally, the system has met requirements for the provision of public and professional trauma education as well establishment of a robust injury prevention and community outreach program. The ACS verification is the culmination of an intense, multi-year preparation by multiple teams at Cape Cod Hospital to establish a strong program infrastructure and to refine care processes to support and optimize patient outcomes for the injured patient.

“There’s nothing more important in this community than being able to save someone’s life when every minute matters. The development of this trauma center at Cape Cod Hospital represents our unwavering commitment to the highest quality care for our residents and visitors - providing critical and timely access to specialized, lifesaving care right on Cape Cod,” said Cape Cod Healthcare President and CEO Michael K. Lauf. “We congratulate our trauma team for this significant and historic achievement.”

Cape Cod Healthcare Director of Trauma and general surgeon Dr. C. Jeff Siegert adds, “Our Level III trauma center verification supports our ongoing dedication to serving all in our community with higher-level care. Having the expert team and processes in place to treat emergent injuries means valuable travel time will be greatly decreased for trauma patients who can receive the critical care they need locally, ultimately saving countless lives in our region.”