(Camden, New Jersey) — The trauma center at Cooper University Hospital has been verified as a Level 1 trauma center by the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This achievement recognizes the trauma center’s dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients.
Established by the American College of Surgeons in 1987, the COTs Certification/Consultation Program for Hospitals promotes the development of trauma centers in which participants provide not only the hospital resources necessary for trauma care, but also the entire spectrum of care to address the needs of all injured patients. This spectrum encompasses the pre-hospital phase through the rehabilitation process.
Cooper’s trauma center is one of the busiest in the region, treating more than 2,500 trauma patients a year. Cooper was designated South Jersey’s Level 1 Trauma Center in 1985. Since then, patients in the seven southern counties of New Jersey are transported to Cooper for the highest level of treatment available.
“For more than 20 years Cooper’s trauma team has worked to save the lives of the most critically injured in our region,” said Steven E. Ross, M.D., Head of the Division of Trauma at Cooper.
The trauma team includes trauma surgeons, nurses, technologists, anesthesiologists, neurosurgeons, radiologists, orthopaedists, plastic surgeons, respiratory therapists and many others that collaborate on a case by case basis. “In order for a hospital to be designated Level 1, you must have the highest level of full spectrum care available 24-hours a day, 365-days a year,” added Dr. Ross.
Verified trauma centers must meet the essential criteria that ensure trauma care capability and institutional performance, as outlined by the American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Trauma in its current Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient manual.
The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational association of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical education and practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College has 59,000 members and it is the largest association of surgeons in the world. Longstanding achievements have placed the College in the forefront of American surgery and have made it an important advocate for all surgical patients.