Northeast Georgia Medical Center applying to become another level 1 trauma center

Metro Atlanta could soon have another Level 1 trauma center to handle the most critical injuries.

Northeast Georgia Medical Center is applying for the title, which would make it the fifth health system in Georgia designated as a Level 1 center.

This comes as Atlanta deals with the loss of Atlanta Medical Center in November. Its closure left only one Level 1 trauma center in the region – Grady Hospital.

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We’re already very busy, we’re a busy level 2,” Jesse Gibson, the trauma program director for Northeast Georgia Medical Center told Channel 2′s Brian Mims. “I think we have one of the top volumes (for Level 2) in the state.”

As a Level 2, the hospital can begin care for all injured patients, but may have to send the most severe cases to a Level 1 trauma center, such as Grady. A Level 1 hospital can provide for every aspect of the most severe traumatic injuries – from prevention to rehab – without having to transfer patients.

Gibson said Northeast Georgia is operating as a Level 1 now. “We’re already a very high-functioning Level 2 trauma center,” she said.

The American College of Surgeons recently performed a survey of the hospital see whether it has the staff and services to qualify as a Level 1 center. It’s expected to decide on the hospital’s Level 1 status this spring.

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“It really furthers our goal to be the sold medical provider for the region of northeast Georgia,” said Dr. Matthew Vassy, the trauma medical director. He said advancing to a Level 1 center would help the hospital attract talented doctors and specialists, and bolster its research programs.

“Certainly research in terms of clinical treatments and becoming leaders in establishing what the leading edge of clinical care is in trauma,” Vassy said.

But he said patients likely wouldn’t see much change in clinical care if the hospital becomes a Level 1 health system. “In terms of the clinical care that we’ll provide, there’s not a lot of difference in terms of requirements,” Vassy said. “What I think it will allow us to do is to continue to recruit at a high level.”

He said a growing area like northeast Georgia needs a hospital that can provide for the most critical emergencies. “I think it’s greatly needed,” he said. “We serve a very large rural population that’s pretty much all northeast of us.”

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