LMC’S Trauma Center Celebrates Ten Years Since its Level I Designation
Led by Fausto Vinces, D.O., the center provides critical trauma care to nearly three million community members living in six Brooklyn neighborhoods. The Trauma Center opened in 1999 in response to the need for emergency trauma care and was designed as a home of technical excellence for care and research that reflects Lutheran's tradition of compassionate care.
Services include trauma and cardiac resuscitation rooms, a crisis unit for psychiatric and substance-abuse patients and a medical specialties suite. The center is also equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technology and facilities including an emergency CT scan. It is a successful example of continuous, integrated care that stems from a coordinated effort among pre-admission and hospital-based providers, with close cooperation among medical specialties in every dimension of critical treatment.
 To earn the Level I designation, LMC demonstrated that it possessed a highly qualified staff (including trauma surgeons trained to treat adults and children, anesthesiologists, and neurosurgeons) and appropriate resources to treat all patients immediately, 24 hours a day. A variety of other physicians, such as orthopedic and facial reconstruction surgeons, are on call and promptly available. Level I Trauma Centers, unlike other emergency departments, are required to participate in research and community education and outreach. LMC's Trauma Center works to exceed these standards.
In 2008, Lutheran's Trauma Center treated 1,391 patients. With a New York State recognized Stroke Center, emergency response standards are among the highest and include a full complement of surgical and medical experts available around the clock, 24 hours a day.
Click here for a behind the scenes look at one family's experience in Lutheran's trauma center.
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