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Health Matters: Providence St. Mary Medical Center | 5 A Greater Level of Care Providence St. Mary's long-awaited trauma center will better serve the High Desert's critically injured patients. P rovidence St. Mary Medical Center is awaiting approval to begin offering another crucial service to the High Desert community. Earlier this year, the hospital applied for designation as a Level IV trauma center, which will mean specialized, life-sustaining care for severely injured patients. With a Level IV designation, St. Mary 's emergency department (ED) will be able to provide advanced trauma life support (ATLS) to patients through evaluation, stabilization and, in some cases, surgery before they are transferred to another facility for a higher level of care. Marc Wirtz, executive director of emergency services at St. Mary, will oversee the trauma center. "At Level IV, our role will focus on immediately addressing emergent needs—things like assisting their breathing and replacing lost blood," he explains. "In the trauma community, one of the things we talk about is the 'golden hour.' That's the first hour after the injury occurs. What gets done in that time has a high likelihood of predicting whether a patient survives." Wirtz expects to see an increase in volume of about 400 patients in the first year of designation. Most will likely be accident victims. "We suspect our No. 1 mechanism of injury will be a vehicle, simply because we're so close to Interstate 15. But we're prepared to treat anyone, from a person who falls off a ladder putting up Christmas lights to a gunshot victim," he says. INCREASING THE ODDS OF SURVIVAL By immediately stabilizing these patients, St. Mary will provide a greater chance of survival, and with more severe cases we'll transfer patients out for more advanced care at hospitals like Arrowhead Regional or Loma Linda University medical centers, which carry Level I designations. St. Mary began exploring a trauma designation at the request of San Bernardino County officials. They highlighted the need in the High Desert and cited a grand jury report that investigated local ambulance availability and bed delay, which is the time between an ambulance's arrival and an ED's intake of the patient. Among other concerns, the San Bernardino County Civil Grand Jury 's report found that a shortage of ED beds and the lack of a trauma center in the High Desert contribute to bed delays locally. Beyond that, St. Mary 's 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment identified improving access to care as the hospital's No. 1 priority. "After researching the need and our ability to meet it, we knew that attaining a trauma designation was the best move for our community," says Randy Castillo, St. Mary 's chief executive. "Achieving Level IV will help us address and tackle some of the most pressing issues facing patients and health care professionals in the High Desert." The Inland Counties Emergency Medical Agency (ICEMA) approves trauma-designation applications for hospitals in San Bernardino, Inyo and Mono counties. St. Mary officials expect an announcement from ICEMA either this month or in November. HELICOPTER SERVICE EXPANSION Another important element of St. Mary 's trauma care will be the hospital's partnership with REACH Air Medical Services, which provides two helicopters for patient transport. Currently, the helicopters are stationed at St. Mary during the day, but plans are underway to establish living quarters on the hospital's campus by January 2024, allowing the availability of a flight crew 24/7. Every dedicated caregiver and physician at St. Mary understands the crucial role they play in the health and well-being of the High Desert community, and Wirtz knows the trauma designation will add yet another layer of high-quality care that benefits residents and saves lives. "We're going to continue to do what's right for them. Our patients want to be treated in the community in which they live, and we're going to do everything in our power to take care of our High Desert family." For more information, visit ICEMA at sbcounty.gov/icema.

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