HealthBreak | Missoula Trauma Center
Trauma is the leading cause of hospitalization and death through the age of 45. At some point in our lifetimes, half of the population will be seriously injured, or have a loved one who is seriously injured. It's critically important that trauma patients are cared for in a trauma center - like the one in Missoula at Providence St. Patrick Hospital. "If you're seriously injured, your chance of survival increases by 25 percent if you are cared for by a trauma system and a trauma center," says Brad Pickhardt, MD FACS - St. Patrick's trauma director. "Once that patient arrives, a trauma team composed of doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and radiographers meets the patient. All of these team members have specific jobs that they do simultaneously and efficiently," Dr. Pickhardt explains. "That system means that the most seriously injured are identified and delivered to most appropriate, definitive level of care in a timely fashion." Providence St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, Western Montana, built a Level 2 Trauma Center in the late 1990s and has maintained its high level of care ever since. "Throughout my career, I have never seen St. Patrick waver in its commitment to this community," shares Dr. Pickhardt. "One of it's commitments is the care of the trauma patient." To learn more, visit http://montana.providence.org/hospitals/st-patrick/services/emergency-department/
