Surgical Suites/Anesthesia

Surgical Suites/Anesthesia 1. An operating room must be adequately staffed and available within 30 minutes of time of notification, Availability of the operating room personnel and timeliness of starting operations must be continuously evaluated by the trauma performance improvement process, and measures must be implemented to ensure optimal care. 2. If the staff is not in-house, hospital policy must be written to assure notification and prompt response. 3. The OR nurses should participate in the care of the trauma patient and be competent in the surgical stabilization of the major trauma patient. 4. The OR nurses are integral members of the trauma team and must participate in the ongoing PI process of the trauma program and must be represented on the multidisciplinary trauma committee. 5. The OR supervisor must be able to demonstrate a prioritization scheme to assure the availability of an operating room for the emergent trauma patient during a busy operative schedule. There must be an on-call system for additional personnel for multiple patient admissions. 6. The anesthesia department in a Level III Trauma Center must be organized and run by an anesthesiologist or physician liaison who is experienced and devoted to the care of the injured patient. 7. A licensed anesthesia provider must be immediately available with a mechanism established to ensure early notification of the on-call provider. Anesthesiologists or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNAs) may fill this requirement. Hospital policy must be established to determine when the licensed anesthesia providers must be immediately available for airway control and assisting with resuscitation. The availability of the licensed anesthesia providers and the absence of delays in airway control or operative anesthesia must be documented and monitored by the PI process. The maximum response time for all trauma patients is 30 minutes from the time notified to respond. 8. The list of required equipment necessary for Surgery and Anesthesia can be found online at the Department’s website.