The Texas Department of State Health Services has reverified the Level III trauma center for Harris Health System's Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, a distinction the hospital has held since 1996.
The state's approval follows an extensive tri-annual survey conducted by the American College of Surgeons in late 2014. The survey involved poring through years of patient charts, conducting interviews with key staff, inspecting facilities and equipment in the hospital's emergency, radiology, operating rooms, post-anesthesiology care units and intensive care units. The hospital received a three-year designation that expires in 2018.
"This re-designation is a testament of our team's dedication to excellence," says Jessie L. Tucker III, executive vice president and administrator, Harris Health LBJ Hospital. "As the first in Texas and the busiest in the nation, LBJ Hospital is excited about the opportunity to continue providing exceptional Level III trauma services for Houston and Harris County."
To receive a trauma designation, hospitals must meet or exceed strict guidelines for patient care and trauma expertise set by the nationally recognized college of surgeons.
"Trauma can be such a devastating event for our patients, and the LBJ Hospital trauma team is proud to serve the Houston community," says Dr. Carmel B. Dyer, chief of staff, Harris Health LBJ Hospital, and associate dean, Harris County Programs Professor, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
LBJ Hospital treats about 72,000 patient visits a year in its emergency center. In 2011, the hospital expanded its center to 43,000-square-feet, nearly doubling its original size. LBJ was the first Level III trauma center designated in Texas, and is today the busiest Level III trauma center in the U.S., according to the National Trauma Data Bank, part of the American College of Surgeons.
"LBJ Hospital is to be commended for its ongoing commitment to ensure quality care is available for all trauma patients in the area," wrote Kirk Cole, interim commissioner, Texas Department of State Health Services, in the letter annoucing the designation. "Your continued leadership role in the development of our state's trauma system is an impressive accomplishment."
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