A second hospital in Northwest Indiana — Franciscan St. Anthony Health — will now join Methodist Northlake in treating the area’s most seriously injured patients.
The Crown Point hospital received the “In the Process” Level III trauma center designation from the State EMS Commission on Dec. 18.
Trauma coordinator Jennifer Homan said having two trauma centers locally will help link patients to necessary care quickly, especially in the rural areas of Northwest Indiana. Prior to Methodist becoming a trauma center, trauma cases in Northwest Indiana were transported to South Bend, Illinois and even Indianapolis.
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“The areas that it will really help us service is the areas south of us, like Newton and Jasper counties, over into Porter County, and some areas of LaPorte County by LaCrosse,” Homan said. “Having a trauma center at the north end in Methodist and the south end really expands the capabilities of serving this patient population.”
Homan said Franciscan has been working on developing its trauma program for 2 1/2 years, through education for physicians and nurses and purchasing new equipment The hospital has been beefing up on its staffing in preparation for the trauma center designation, but it will monitor data to see if addditional staffing is necessary, Homan said.
St. Anthony Health’s top two causes of injury are motor vehicle collisions and falls. Homan said an important component of the trauma program is using information on common causes of injury to educate the community about prevention. Having car seat clinics and talking about safety equipment for kids, like bike helmets, emphasize that many accidents are preventable.
“I really like to stress the prevention step,” Homan said. “Trauma is preventable. It’s a great thing to see hospitals in this area stepping up their game and working with the community to cut down on accidents. I’ve watched too many tragedies happen in my career.”