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| NEWS RELEASE |
Media Contact: John F. Martinez Office: 713-566-6486 Cell: 713-301-6250 John_Martinez@hchd.tmc.edu On-call pager: 713.566.6430 |
| Ben Taub’s Level 1 Trauma Designation Re-verified by College of Surgeons | |
| HOUSTON (June 11, 2009) - The American College of Surgeons has re-verified the Level 1 trauma designation for the Ginni and Richard Mithoff Trauma Center at Ben Taub General Hospital, marking its fifth consecutive successful review. "I have reviewed over 180 trauma centers in the past 15 years and I have never cited such a long list of commendations in any of my written reports like I have for Ben Taub Hospital," said Dr. Marco Bonato, lead surveyor of the Ben Taub Hospital review. "Truly, this institution and all of the dedicated members of the trauma team are setting the standard for trauma centers in the country." The announcement follows an extensive two-day survey conducted of the Harris County Hospital District facility in early March. The designation, the highest possible, assures the community that Ben Taub Hospital's trauma program meets or exceeds strict guidelines for patient care and trauma expertise set by the college. Ben Taub Hospital first received its Level 1 trauma designation in 1994. However, the hospital district's expertise in trauma care emerged through the pioneer work by renowned surgeon Dr. Michael E. DeBakey in 1949 at Jefferson Davis Hospital. "I am so incredibly proud of the wonderful men and women who make up our coordinated and caring team at Ben Taub Hospital," said Dr. Kenneth Mattox, hospital chief of staff. "The legacy of Dr. DeBakey continues here and is a testament of our 60 years of leadership in trauma care." The college surveyors review trauma programs across the nation every three years. They pore through years of hospital patient charts, interview key staff and inspect facilities and equipment to determine their findings. Surveyors visit a hospital's emergency, radiology, operating room, post-anesthesiology care units, intensive care units and rehabilitation departments to review protocols, staffing, patient charts and facilities. Ben Taub Hospital is one of two Level 1 trauma centers in greater Houston/Harris County and is the busiest with nearly 87,000 emergency patient visits during its 2008-2009 fiscal year. |
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| The Harris County Hospital District is the public health care system for the nation's third most-populous county. It provides quality health care for more than one million patient visits each year to residents of Harris County. It operates Ben Taub General Hospital, Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital, Quentin Mease Community Hospital, 13 community health centers, a dental center, a dialysis center, eight school-based clinics, 13 homeless shelter clinics and five mobile health units. |
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