Trauma Surgery
Trauma Surgery
Alameda Health System (AHS), Highland Hospital, is a Level I Trauma Center as designated by the Alameda County EMS Agency in accordance with the criteria set forth by the Emergency Medical Services Authority of the State of California Health and Welfare Agency. Due to its central location within a densely populated area, ACMC serves the trauma needs of the citizens of various contiguous cities within Alameda County, including the cities of Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda. Approximately 70% of critically injured patients within Alameda County are transported directly to AHS by ground crew ambulances responding directly to the scene of a traumatic event.
The UC San Francisco-East Bay Trauma Service at AHS is composed of a multidisciplinary team of staff and resident physicians, nurses, medical students and ancillary medical personnel in accordance with the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma guidelines. Services provided include:
- Initial assessment and stabilization of the injured patient
- Coordination of care and consultation by specialty services (Neurosurgery, Orthopedic Surgery and Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery)
- Medical management of patients during their inpatient phase in the Intensive Care or Transitional Care Units or ward
- Initiation of inpatient rehabilitation services through the Department of Physical Therapy
- Coordination of discharge planning
- Outpatient follow-up in the weekly Ambulatory Trauma Clinic
Over the past ten years, there has been an average of two thousand patients a year brought to the AHS Emergency Department for evaluation and treatment of traumatic injuries. More than 40% of patients admitted to the hospital after initial stabilization by the trauma team are transferred directly to the operating rooms for surgical intervention or admitted directly to the Intensive Care Unit. The average distribution of injury mechanisms is 60% blunt and 40% penetrating, with firearm injuries comprising more than half of the latter.
The Division of Trauma has been actively involved in violence and injury prevention through its Trauma and Violence Prevention Fellowship. From 1993 through July 2001, we have been one of several academic institutions in the State of California to host and coordinate an academic fellowship aimed at investigating the root causes of violent behavior that lead to the alarmingly high rates of injury and disability among the citizens of the East Bay community. This fellowship was funded through grants from the California Wellness Foundation and administered by the Pacific Center for Violence Prevention.
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