State Lifts Probationary Status of Trauma Unit

Hospital regains Level 1 standing

Friday, February 2, 2001

The N.C. Division of Facility Services has lifted probationary status for the trauma center at Duke University Medical Center. "The state's revisit on (Monday) demonstrated resolution of the probation issues identified in the March 2000 site visit and we commend the hospital for responding so quickly to these concerns," said Drexdal Pratt, chief of the N.C. Office of Emergency Medical Services, in a letter to Michael Israel, Duke Hospital chief executive officer. "Duke Hospital remains committed to providing the highest quality comprehensive trauma care to our patients and to the ongoing research that improves such care. The patients and communities we serve expect and deserve nothing less." In addition to Duke, the other Level 1 centers are Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, Wake Forest's Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, the University Health System of Eastern Carolina in Greenville and University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill. Duke has been a Level 1 center since 1982. To be rated by the state office, trauma centers voluntarily submit to thorough periodic reviews by the Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) and leading medical professionals who pore over records to assure that patients receive the most timely, appropriate care available, and to assure that the center meets stringent performance guidelines. A OEMS report last March said the Duke center's "strengths are diverse and numerous," but the team also cited five deficiencies, prompting the EMS staff to recommend the Duke center be placed on probation for nine months to a year to provide time to meet the state's criteria for a Level 1 status. Pratt said in his letter that the restoration of Duke's full Level 1 trauma designation will last for the maximum four-year period with the understanding that Duke will continue to meet all the required criteria. Israel said last March that Duke was spending $1.2 million to support the trauma program and was investing an additional $700,000 to meet the latest regulatory requirements cited by the review team, primarily in having the trauma surgeons on site at all times. He said this funding does not include the costs of serving indigent trauma patients. "Because we are committed to the highest quality comprehensive trauma care and to the research that improves that care, we will commit the necessary funds as we believe that our patients and the communities we serve expect and deserve nothing less," he said last March.