At a glance
IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie recently was named a Level III Trauma Center, meaning the hospital — which previously held no official trauma center designation from the American College of Surgeons — has met particular standards for how and how quickly the hospital can respond to patients brought in with traumatic injuries.
Other trauma centers around the state — with levels based on size — are:
Level I
IU Health Methodist Hospital, Indianapolis
Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, Indianapolis (pediatric trauma center)
Wishard-Eskenazi Hospital, Indianapolis
Level II
Deaconess Hospital, Evansville
St. Mary's Medical Center, Evansville (trauma center and pediatric trauma center)
Lutheran Hospital of Indiana, Fort Wayne (trauma center and pediatric trauma center)
Parkview Regional Medical Center, Fort Wayne (trauma center and pediatric trauma center)
St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital
Memorial Hospital South Bend
Level III
IU Health Arnett, Lafayette
Sources: American College of Surgeons
MUNCIE — We all hope never to be seriously injured in a traffic accident or a shooting.
But those things certainly do happen around Muncie — and when they do, the injured now have a Level III Trauma Center close by where they can be treated as swiftly as possible.
IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital this week announced it had been named a Level III Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons. The hospital — previously not designated as a trauma center — has been working toward that designation for at least two years, according to Mark Saleem, medical director of the trauma program at IU Health BMH.
What this means in practical terms for those on the receiving end of care is that treatment for traumatic injuries from car accidents, farming accidents, shootings or similar incidents will be provided faster, using newly coordinated protocols to meet ACS standards, Saleem said.
Someone in a serious auto accident, for example, would be met at the hospital by an emergency physician and two nurses; a general surgeon would be there quickly and departments such as X-ray, respiratory therapy and the blood bank would be notified and ready to move in right away if needed, Saleem added.
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