healthspin
North Oaks Medical Center Achieves
Designation as Level II Trauma Center
When a 30-year-old Husser man hit a bump on a
pathway and fell from his
golf cart, he suffered serious head injuries and was
brought to North Oaks
Medical Center’s Shock
Trauma Center.
The man was one of several patients who received
critical injuries and was
brought to North Oaks for
specialized care.
The commitment and
care provided to them – and
hundreds of other patients
like them – have earned
North Oaks official verification from the American
College of Surgeons (ACS)
Committee on Trauma
(COT), and designation
from the Louisiana Department of Health, as a Level
II Trauma Center
North Oaks Medical Center Administrator Michele
Sutton, FACHE, made the
declaration official at a ceremony on July 27, noting that
the hospital began working
toward becoming a Level II
trauma center in 2012.
“This achievement recognizes the trauma center’s
dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients as well as a voluntary
commitment to meet criteria established by the ACS,”
Sutton explains.
The announcement follows completion of a comprehensive onsite visit by
members of the ACS committee in which the North
Oaks Shock Trauma Center was praised for its qualifications, commitment and
involvement in state and national trauma systems.
Louisiana has one of the
highest rates of trauma in
the nation, and Tangipahoa Parish ranks in the top
20 parishes experiencing
the most trauma cases in
the state. The majority of
trauma patients treated at
North Oaks have been victims of ATV and motor vehicle crashes, falls, homicide
attempts and purposely inflicted injuries.
Sutton points out that
North Oaks is the first Level