The Medical Center Arlington (MCA) Trauma Center has been designated as a Level III Trauma Facility by the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS). MCA is the only designated trauma hospital in Arlington.
The TDSHS trauma designation program promotes the regional and statewide trauma system development in which participants provide not only the hospital resources necessary for trauma care, but also the entire spectrum of care to address the needs of all injured patients. This spectrum encompasses the pre-hospital phase through the rehabilitation process. MCA's trauma team consists of physicians and nurses that are specifically certified in trauma care, logging hundreds of hours of continuing medical education, Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) training, Trauma Nurse Core Curriculum (TNCC), Emergency Nurse Pediatric Course (ENPC), and Trauma Care After Resuscitation (TCAR).
Designated trauma centers must meet the essential criteria in Texas Administrative Code that ensure trauma care capability and institutional performance. A state trauma facility designation recognizes that a trauma center has demonstrated its commitment to providing the highest quality trauma care for all injured patients. The establishment and the designation of trauma centers is the function of the Texas Department of State Health Services.
There are four separate levels of designation in the TDSHS designation program. Each level has specific criteria that must be met by a facility seeking that level of designation. Each hospital has an on-site review by a team of professionals that are experienced site reviewers. The TDSHS designation reflects the facility’s ongoing commitment to ensure quality care is available for trauma patients in its area.
Medical Center Arlington was also recognized with an “A” Hospital Safety Score byThe Leapfrog Group, an independent, national non-profit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. The A score was awarded in the latest update to the Hospital Safety ScoreSM, the A, B, C, D or F scores assigned to U.S. hospitals based on preventable medical errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. The Hospital Safety Score was compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety. The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety (April 2013), Hospital Safety Score is designed to give the public information they can use to protect themselves and their families.
To see Medical Center Arlington’s scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit the Hospital Safety Score website, which provides information on how the public can protect themselves and loved ones during a hospital stay. Local hospitals’ scores are also available on the free mobile app, available here.
“Medical Center Arlington is continuing in our vision to be known as the premier tertiary healthcare facility for the mid DFW area,“ said Winston Borland, CEO of Medical Center Arlington. “We believe increasing our trauma level to Level III will provide additional services for our market that historically have migrated out of the area. This achievement combined with our continuing Leapfrog rating of A ensures patients will get high level quality care in a safe environment.”