NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi has been verified as a Level 1 Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Trauma. This distinguished achievement recognizes the trauma center’s dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients.
“This is important because it means that Jacobi meets the highest level of care,” said Dr. Sheldon Teperman, Jacobi’s Trauma Medical Director and Chairman of the NYC Health + Hospitals Trauma Council. “There is no higher standard of care for trauma. This is a very difficult standard to achieve.”
Jacobi is one of about six New York City hospitals to be verified as a Level 1 Trauma Center. The designation means that Jacobi is qualified to handle the sickest and most severely injured patients and also provides outreach, education and research that benefit the larger community.
Jacobi was previously designated a Level 1 Trauma Center by New York State. But five years ago, the state asked the American College of Surgeons (ACS), which sets national standards, to take over the review process. That process has now resulted in ACS verifying Jacobi as a Level 1 Trauma Center for another three years.
Verification by ACS means that Jacobi meets the essential criteria that ensure trauma care capability and institutional performance, as outlined by the ACS’ Committee on Trauma in its “Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient” manual, which establishes guidelines for the care of injured patients.
Dr. Teperman says the ACS review process was very demanding and resulted in significant upgrades at Jacobi.
“Everything was looked at to see how we could make improvements,” he says. “We did improvements in trauma resuscitation, the way we identify and manage problem drinking that leads to injury, improvements in orthopedic and neurosurgical protocols, improvements in our backup systems. The tires have been kicked on every process.”