Board members and staff of
the Louisiana
Emergency Response Network
watched and listened in horror to the breaking news coverage of the recent shooting
rampage that erupted on a community baseball field in Virginia, which
critically injured Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise. The LERN family extends
our best wishes for a full recovery to Congressman Scalise.
This senseless act of
violence serves as the latest reminder that immediate and appropriate medical response
to severe traumatic injury can save lives. No doubt, the medical response to
this “ballpark shooting” incident will be carefully studied and analyzed for
lessons learned – two basic facts of this case are already being cited as
probable lifesavers.
First, Congressman Scalise
received almost immediate first aid care, from medical professionals who were
coincidentally at the ballpark, which limited his blood loss.
Second, Congressman Scalise was
taken by EMS directly to a Level I Trauma Center, where a comprehensive team of
trauma specialists could immediately assess his injuries and initiate
lifesaving care.
What
is a Trauma Center?
A trauma center can handle all of the
same types of illnesses and injuries that are seen in an Emergency Department, but
they are designed to handle
the extreme cases where there is an issue of immediate survival. They take care of sickest patients. Examples
of traumatic injuries include those sustained in high impact automobile
accidents, gunshot wounds, and falls.
The trauma center extends outside the walls of the
ED and must provide care from prevention to injury and then rehabilitation. Level
I and II trauma centers need to have trauma surgeons, neurosurgeons, facial surgeons, spine surgeons, critical care
surgeons and many other specialties on staff and immediately available 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week.
In Louisiana, these centers are verified every three years by the American
College of Surgeons to ensure their high standards are being met.
Louisiana’s
Network of Trauma Centers
LERN can proudly report a
total of five Level I and Level II trauma centers in Louisiana today. These trauma centers, located in
Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Hammond, New Orleans, and Shreveport, have the resources
to address severe traumatic injuries. Additionally, formal efforts to establish
trauma centers in Lafayette and Lake Charles are underway and there are Level
III Trauma Centers being developed on the Northshore.
STOP
THE BLEED
LERN is also promoting the
national STOP THE BLEED campaign – an initiative to provide bystanders of emergency
situations with the tools and knowledge to stop life-threatening bleeding.
There are simple steps that
can be taken by bystanders in an emergency situation to stop or slow
life-threatening bleeding which can save lives. Recognizing the importance of
“stopping the bleed,” LERN partnered with University Medical Center New
Orleans, to educate and equip law enforcement with tourniquets. Since 2016,
together we have provided education and tourniquets to 474 law enforcement
officers across the state.
The American College of
Surgeons Committee on Trauma, a partner in the STOP THE BLEED campaign, has
also developed a series of training resources available online here.
This campaign includes
expanding personal and public access to Bleeding Control Kits which can be the difference
between life and death for an injured patient. LERN is currently developing a
Louisiana plan to fully leverage the STOP THE BLEED resources and promote wide
distribution of Bleeding Control Kits.
The Louisiana Emergency
Response Network (LERN) is an agency of state government created by the Louisiana
Legislature in 2004 charged with the responsibility of developing and
maintaining a statewide system of care coordination for patients suddenly
stricken by serious traumatic injury or time-sensitive illness (such as heart
attack and stroke). It is a system also designated to serve as a vital
healthcare resource in the face of larger scale emergencies and natural disaster.
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