POTSDAM -- St. Lawrence Health System’s Canton-Potsdam Hospital has been awarded provisional status as a level III trauma center by the New York State Department of Health.

Level III designation means that CPH will meet certain criteria to provide life-sustaining care to critically ill or injured patients according to protocols established by New York State and the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS-COT). This includes performing life-sustaining surgery, and working with emergency services personnel and level I and II centers to coordinate care and transfers when necessary. Trauma care spans the scene of an accident or medical emergency, the ER, the operating room, the intensive care unit, and rehabilitation. A specially trained surgeon directs trauma teams at every stage of care.

New York State has four levels of trauma center designation. Level I is the highest, reserved for large university hospital systems in urban areas.

“St. Lawrence County is the most geographically isolated of any New York county in terms of access to tertiary care,” said David B. Acker, president and CEO of St. Lawrence Health System, the parent corporation of CPH and its sister hospital, Gouverneur Hospital. “With the nearest Level I trauma centers nearly three hours away in Burlington and Syracuse, it was extremely important that we elevate the level of trauma care available closer to home.”

“It’s been a long 12-month process that involved developing program leadership, assessing data management needs, and ensuring that peer review, performance improvement, specialized equipment, and patient safety protocols are standardized and in place,” said Dr. Charles R. Wilson, who serves as Trauma Medical Director.

“We know that appropriate trauma care within the first hour saves lives. What this means to our community is that expert emergency trauma care can be provided to the injured patient in most cases without a three-hour ambulance ride,” Wilson said.

“Now that the structure and personnel are in place, we need to apply the most rigorous standards to how we care for our injured patients from EMS to rehabilitation,” Dr. Wilson said. “Within one year of this provisional designation, we anticipate a consultative onsite inspection by the American College of Surgeons. They will apply a microscope to every part of our operation. If we have the right processes in place, and data to demonstrate our excellent care, we can then apply for Verification.”

The ACS-COT publishes Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient, which guides the standards of care of trauma patients from a systems approach. According to the ACS-COT, Level III Trauma centers have the ability to care for most trauma patients, transferring only the most seriously injured to Level I and II centers when the needs of the patient exceed the resources of the hospital.

“We already see trauma patients here at CPH,” Wilson said. “These patients are our neighbors, friends and family. My goal is to ensure that we are taking the best possible care of them.”