Cooper University Hospital has received verification as a Level I Trauma Center for an additional two years by the Verification Review Committee (VRC), of the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). The Cooper Trauma Center will celebrate its 30th Anniversary this fall and treats more than 2,700 patients a year.
“Cooper University Hospital is extremely proud of the work our Trauma Center provides each and everyday,” said John P. Sheridan, Jr., President and CEO at Cooper University Hospital. “This achievement is further recognition of our Trauma staff’s dedication to providing optimal care for injured and seriously ill patients from across South Jersey.”
Established by the American College of Surgeons in 1987, the COT’s Consultation/Verification 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.
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.
“Our trauma center wouldn’t be where it is today, or have received the success it has, if it wasn’t for the expertise and hard work of our entire staff, including physicians, technicians, nurses and surgeons,” said Steven E. Ross, MD, FACS, FCCM, Head, Division of Trauma and Director, Level I Trauma Center and Trauma Surgical Intensive Care Unit. “Treating and saving the lives of these critically ill or injured patients takes coordination and skill. We have the best of the best here at Cooper.”
The ACS Committee on Trauma’s verification program does not designate trauma centers. Rather, the program provides confirmation that a trauma center has demonstrated its commitment to providing the highest quality trauma care for all injured patients. The actual establishment and the designation of trauma centers is the function of local, regional, or state health care systems agencies, such as the local emergency medical services (EMS) authority.