December 11, 2007

Kaiser Permanente designated as an Adult Level II Trauma Center

Kaiser Permanente’s South Sacramento Medical Center will begin serving the south county community with a new trauma center to open in 2009 after receiving the designation from the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on December 11.

“We are very pleased to have received this designation so that we can provide this vital service to our community,” said Max Villalobos, Senior Vice President and Area Manager for South Sacramento and Elk Grove. “We have been expanding and developing resources since 1999 to provide first-class trauma care, and we look forward to opening our trauma center next year.”

The board approved the recommendation by the county Department of Health and Human Services that Kaiser Permanente receive the designation. Kaiser Permanente exceeded the standards set by the American College of Surgeons for trauma care following a survey by trauma experts. That recommendation was upheld by an independent expert in trauma services.

The board's decision came after hearing testimony from dozens community officials, residents and neighborhood leaders who urged them to accept the recommendation by experts that Kaiser Permanente was the most qualified hospital to operate a trauma center.

Our new trauma center – like all Kaiser Permanente community Emergency Rooms – will be open to all, including those who have Medi-Cal, other health insurance, or who don't have insurance. With more than 63,000 visits in 2006, our Emergency Room is the busiest in the south county. More than 20 percent of patients seen in our Emergency Room do not have Kaiser Permanente health insurance.

Kaiser Permanente is highly and uniquely qualified to provide trauma care. We have the physicians and personnel required to provide first-class trauma care, including 27 ER physicians who have trained in Level I Trauma Centers, 10 neurosurgeons, 10 general surgeons, eight facial fracture surgeons, eight orthopedic surgeons, 16 radiologists, three hand specialists, and rehabilitation therapists. In addition, Kaiser Permanente operates one of the most established and largest rehabilitation facilities in Northern California in Vallejo. Patients will also be able to receive rehabilitation services at our South Sacramento Medical Center.

“We have hired some of the best physicians and personnel in the country to provide outstanding care in our trauma center,” said Richard Isaacs, MD, FACS, Physician-in-Chief for South Sacramento and Elk Grove. “We are also very excited to have received this designation because, as the largest provider of health care in Sacramento, we bring a tremendous set of new resources to greatly expand Sacramento County’s ability to respond to a disaster.”

Other members of our trauma team include David Kissinger, MD, our trauma medical director who is fellowship trained and Board certified and who opened a Level I Trauma Center for the U.S. Air Force at Wilford Hall Medical Center in Texas; and Christy Frecceri, RN, our nationally-recognized trauma program manager who has extensive experience developing trauma programs.

A $300 million medical center expansion already under way will enhance our ability to provide trauma care. The 20,000 square-foot, 38-bed Emergency Room will be increased by 8,300 square feet and three large resuscitation rooms that are specially equipped for trauma care. The expansion will also add a new hospital tower for a total of 290 beds, a trauma follow-up care center, a helipad for critical life-flight care, an outpatient surgery center with six operating rooms, and a four-story, 882-space parking structure that will open in the fall of 2008.