- The region's only Level I Trauma Center is at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital (CRMH).
- The designation extends to Pediatrics, where CRMH has the region's only Level I Pediatric Trauma Center.
- Level I Trauma Centers reduce the risk of death from injury by 25% over non-trauma emergency departments.
During emergencies, when patients need the most critical care possible, they’re automatically transported here…to the region’s only Level I Trauma Center, Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Research shows that Level I Trauma Centers reduce the risk of death from injury by 25% in comparison to non-trauma centers.
What Trauma Center Levels Mean
The classification system for trauma centers represents the resources available to care for patients with differing needs—from the most complex multisystem trauma patient (Level I) to those with mild or moderate injuries (Level III).
At Carilion Clinic, that top-level designation applies not just to the trauma team at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, but also to the pediatric trauma team at Carilion Children's Hospital.
In both cases, says neurosurgeon Eric Marvin, D.O., “we are prepared on a moment’s notice.”
No single physician or group of physicians can care for all trauma patients, so Level I Trauma Centers like those at Carilion have a combination of multiple specialists at the ready 24/7. Subspecialty trauma services include:
- Cardiac surgery
- Gastroenterology
- Hand surgery
- Hematology
- Infectious Diseases
- Microvascular/replant surgery
- Nephrology
- Oral surgery
- Pediatric surgery
- Pediatrics
- Psychiatry
- Pulmonology
These subspecialties are not required in level II or level III trauma centers.
"If you or you or a loved one sustained a serious injury," said trauma/surgical-critical care surgeon Jacob R. Gillen, M.D., "a Level I Trauma Center is where you would want to be."
40 Years of Top-Level Trauma Care
Carilion Clinic has been providing our region with the highest level of trauma care for 40 years. (See the infographic below.)
“The Level I Trauma Center is a commitment of the organization,” explained Thomas E. Shuler, M.D., of Carilion Clinic Orthopaedic Trauma and chief of Carilion’s Orthopaedic Trauma and Fracture Service.
“We are also a referral center for all of the other hospitals in the area that have trauma that is at a level above what they are prepared to take care of,” said Jesse B. Seamon, M.D., of Carilion Clinic Orthopaedic Trauma.
By delivering highly specialized care right away, Level I Trauma Centers save lives and optimize a patient’s recovery.
“As a Level I Trauma Center, we offer very high-level services, neurosurgery general surgery and our high-level ortho trauma services 24/7,” said Dr. Shuler.
The Institute for Orthopaedics and Neurosciences at Carilion Clinic supports the Level I Trauma Center accreditation with high-level specialist care and creates a coordinated opportunity to support patients at all stages of healing and recovery.
“The collaboration between the trauma service and ortho service really provides us with being able to provide optimal care in a timely and very effective manner for our patients,” said Dr. Marvin.
After the Emergency: Comprehensive Care During Recovery
Caring for patients in a level I trauma center requires multiple teams of specialists, and not only when a patient arrives in the trauma bay.
"Two, three, four weeks into a patient's stay, it still requires bedside nurses, respiratory therapists and physicians that are taking care of the patient during the day and at night,” said Bryan R. Collier, D.O., Carilion's chief of Trauma Surgery.
But aside from providing comprehensive trauma care, what also sets Level I Centers apart from lower level centers is the number of patients they care for every day and their commitment to robust research and quality improvement.
As the only Level I Trauma Center in the region, and covering a population base of 1.5 million people, we are committed to providing the highest level of emergency care—for the next 40 years and beyond.
