Bassett Medical Center was recently re-verified a Level III Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), making it one of only a handful of trauma centers in upstate New York.

In a hospital press release it explains that the trauma team at Bassett Medical Center is available 24 hours a day to respond to the needs of critically injured patients. The trauma team, which cared for 641 trauma patients in 2019, is comprised of physicians in the specialties of Emergency Medicine, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Radiology. All members of the trauma team are specially trained and equipped to rapidly assemble and treat critically injured patients.

Chief of Emergency and Trauma Services Dr. Mark Winther notes, “The care provided at a trauma center compared with standard emergency departments has shown up to a 25 percent decrease in mortality for critically injured patients. The verification of our trauma program by ACS is important because it assures the public of our commitment to optimal care and continual performance improvement in order to assure the highest level of readiness for the severely injured patients who need our help and expertise.”

In 2012, New York State adopted the American College of Surgeons - Committee on Trauma (ACS-COT) standards and verification process. The ACS-COT focuses on improving care of severely injured patients and verifies all trauma centers in New York. This involves a site visit to evaluate the trauma program against a rigorous set of standards, with concentrations on commitment, readiness, resources, policies, patient care, and performance improvement.

Bassett Medical Center has been a New York State designated trauma center since 1987.

In addition to 24-hour trauma coverage, Bassett’s trauma program actively works to provide community awareness and education programs aimed at injury prevention. These programs include:

SafeKids of Otsego County – A global organization dedicated to protecting kids from unintentional injury.

Fall Prevention – A significant number of traumatic-related admissions each year are related to falls.

Call Bassett’s trauma and injury prevention program for more information about educational opportunities (607) 547-3639.

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