Emergency Department

Emergency Department 1. The facility must have an emergency department staffed so trauma patients are assured immediate and appropriate initial care. There must be a designated physician director. It is not anticipated that a physician will be available on-call to an emergency department in a Level IV Trauma Center; however, it is a desirable characteristic of a Level IV. The on-call practitioner must respond to the emergency department based on local written criteria. A system must be developed to assure early notification of the on-call practitioner. Compliance with this criterion must be documented and monitored by the Trauma Performance Improvement process. 2. All physicians and mid-level providers (Physician Assistant/Nurse Practitioner) on the trauma team responsible for directing the initial resuscitation of the trauma patients must be currently certified in The American College of Surgeons Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS). ATLS requirements are waived for Board Certified Emergency Medicine and Board-Certified General Surgery Physicians. Rural Trauma Team Development Course (RTTDC) may be substituted for ATLS at Level IV Trauma Centers. 3. Emergency nurses staffing the trauma resuscitation area must be a current provider in TNCC, ATCN, or RTTDC within the last four years. Nurses must obtain trauma training within 18 months of assignment to the ER. Adequate numbers of nurses must be available in-house 24 hours/day, to meet the need of the trauma patient. The nurse may perform other patient care activities within the hospital when not needed in the emergency department. 4. Compliance with the above will be evidenced by: a. Published on-call list of practitioners to the Emergency Department; b. Documentation of nursing staffing patterns to assure 24-hour coverage. c. The list of required equipment necessary for the ED can be found online at the Department’s website.