RMC Emergency Department Earns Trauma Designation

Ripon Medical Center has earned designation as a Level IV Trauma Care facility by the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

            State trauma facility designations are valid for three years, and hospitals must reapply for verification of their trauma care designations.

            As a Level IV Trauma Care facility, Ripon Medical Center has Emergency Department physicians and nurses available 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week with support from comprehensive medical and surgical services at its Parkside Street campus. A Level IV Trauma Care Facility provides stabilization and advanced trauma life support prior to patient transfer to a Level I or II.  

            “We are proud to bring this designation to our emergency services to the Ripon area,” says Katherine Vergos, Ripon Medical Center chief operating officer. “We know that having high quality critical care services is vital to area residents, understanding that in an emergency time matters. Our providers and associates strive to bring the best of care to the individuals and families that we serve.”

            As part of the statewide system, all hospitals in Wisconsin completed a process of categorization and verification as trauma care facilities. The state established four levels of trauma care service based upon resources available at each hospital.

            A comprehensive trauma care system includes ensuring the right patient is taken to the right hospital in the right amount of time to give them the greatest chance of survival.

Wisconsin has 124 of 126 potential hospitals participating in the trauma system, with 9 percent of them being ACS verified Level I or II and the remaining 91 percent being a Level III or IV trauma care facility designated by the state as a part of their voluntary participation in the state trauma system.