Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) designated the first trauma care center outside a metropolitan area today. Summit Healthcare Regional Medical Center in Show Low is the first hospital to meet all the standards and criteria to become a Level IV trauma center. The center will provide care for some trauma patients in that community and can stabilize more severely-injured patients before they are transported to a Level I facility.

"A statewide trauma care system is critical, especially knowing that sixty percent of severe injuries occur in rural parts of our state. This step forward for health care in Show Low is a milestone for trauma care in the state," said Governor Janet Napolitano. Earlier this month, the Governor signed an Executive Order instructing ADHS to make it a priority to increase the number of trauma centers throughout the state, particularly in rural areas. A trauma center can be designated as Level I through Level IV depending on the resources and capabilities developed to provide care for severely injured patients.

"We know that treating trauma patients within the first hour of an accident greatly increases the chance of survival. Every time we can increase access to trauma care, we are improving the likely outcome for a patient," said ADHS Acting Director January Contreras. Keeping patients in hospitals closer to their home helps the recovery process and can ultimately reduce healthcare costs.

A 2007 assessment of Arizona's trauma system by the American College of Surgeons Trauma System Consultation emphasized the importance of bringing more rural hospitals into the trauma system.

"We are hopeful that other health care institutions will follow suit and take the actions necessary to become designated as trauma centers at varying levels," said Vicki Conditt, manager of the state's Trauma System. "We are educating a number of hospitals in the state and working with them to become designated trauma centers."