GROUP TACKLES TRAUMA CENTER HIGH DESERT LACKS ADEQUATE SERVICE.Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer PALMDALE -- A committee has been formed to work toward establishing a trauma center trauma center n. A medical facility that is designated to treat severe physical trauma as a result of the specialized training of its staff and the availability of appropriate diagnostic and treatment tools. that would serve the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley and other High Desert communities. The group is from the Desert-Mountain Division of the League of California Cities, which includes Lancaster, Palmdale and cities in San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. and Inyo counties. ``As a region, we are lacking in adequate medical services and adequate trauma services. We need to approach it from a regional basis,'' said Palmdale Councilman Steve Hofbauer, a committee member who works as an L.A. city firefighter. Antelope Valley Hospital once was part of the county's trauma network but withdrew in 1987 over financial issues. The trauma system A Trauma System is an organized and coordinated plan within a region that delivers the full range of care to injured patients. It often consists of a trauma center that provides a higher level of specialty care. External link
Each year, about 120 trauma patients are helicoptered out of Antelope Valley, usually to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is a hospital in Mission Hills, California, USA. The hospital has 254 beds, and is part of Providence Health & Services. History in Mission Hills or other facilities in the L.A. area, said Carol Meyer, director of the county's Emergency Medical Services An Emergency medical service (abbreviated to initialism "EMS" in many countries) is a service providing out-of-hospital acute care and transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient believes constitutes a medical emergency. Agency. For the Victorville area, the critically injured are ferried by air to Loma Linda Hospital. Committee member and Victorville Councilman Bob Hunter said the Antelope Valley and Victorville regions are growing in population, both hovering near 500,000 residents. ``A trauma center is desperately needed. We need to put something in the High Desert. It's a matter of saving lives,'' he said. Meyer said the group would have to find a hospital willing to be designated a trauma center, an application process that can take several years and involves being reviewed by the American College of Surgeons This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. . ``It's a very costly function. It requires a tremendous amount of resources -- including not only equipment but all of the physician specialists who are necessary to handle critical trauma patients,'' Meyer said. ``First, you have to have a hospital, and the hospital would have to have the resources or be able to get the resources to develop a trauma center.'' Hofbauer said establishing a center might take some time. ``I don't anticipate this is something that will happen overnight,'' Hofbauer said. karen.maeshiro@dailynews.com (661) 267-5744 |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion