Asante Three Rivers Medical Center Receives Level III Trauma Center Status

Asante Three Rivers Medical Center has been designated a Level III Trauma Center by the state of Oregon. To get the bump from its Level IV status, the hospital demonstrated broader capabilities and provider coverage required of a Level III center.

“We have been operating at or near a Level III for quite some time, so the acuity of the trauma patients will likely not change,” said Bianca Lyon, Asante Three River’s trauma nurse coordinator. “We will continue to receive all types of acuities of traumas as we are the only hospital for all of Josephine County.”

To meet the Level III requirement the hospital needed to ensure:

• Around-the-clock general and orthopedic surgery coverage
• The ability to treat — rather than just stabilize and transfer — most trauma patients
• Input and engagement from all clinical disciplines involved in trauma care, including surgery, anesthesia, orthopedics, emergency, respiratory therapy, intensive care and radiology

“We have been able to care for high-acuity trauma patients beyond the norm for our Level IV designation, rural location and hospital size,” Lyon added. “We will continue to do that, but now we have the added possibility of receiving ‘transfer-ins’ from Level IV trauma centers as they are required to transfer to a higher-level center.”

As a Level III trauma center, Asante Three Rivers will provide initial evaluation, stabilization and surgical intervention for severely injured adults and children. Trauma is a serious injury to the body caused by a physical force such as a fall, vehicle collision, gunshot wound, stabbing, burn, drowning, sports injury or physical assault.

Patients who require more specialized care are transferred to a Level II center, such as Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, while those with multisystem trauma needing the highest level of comprehensive care are sent to one of just two Level I trauma centers in the state, Oregon Health & Science University or Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, both in Portland.