WellSpan Health today announced that WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital has received accreditation to be designated as a Level IV trauma center in Pennsylvania, which means that the team is now equipped and trained to provide the initial critical care and stabilization of traumatic injuries while arranging transfer to a higher level of trauma care, like WellSpan York Hospital which cares for more than 2,700 trauma cases per year.

The designation from the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation (PTSF) went into effect at the beginning of the year. It complements WellSpan York Hospital, which already holds a Level I regional resource trauma center accreditation, the highest level of trauma care provided in the Commonwealth. The two will now account for the only accredited trauma centers that can treat higher-acuity patients with trauma injuries in York, Adams and Franklin counties, serving more than one million residents.

Appropriate treatment at these centers by specially trained team members has been shown to reduce the likelihood of death and permanent disability, according to PTSF. 

“With traumatic injuries, every second counts, and having this designation at WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital reflects our ability to support our community with life-saving care close to home,” said Michael Cogliano, vice president, WellSpan Health and president, WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital. “Our care teams are dedicated to providing personalized high-quality care for every patient and this accreditation is a representation of their efforts.”

“Our trauma teams are rigorously trained to be ready for the worst and are on duty 24 hours a day to provide critical care at a moment’s notice,” said Dr. Daniel Carney, trauma surgeon and trauma program medical director, WellSpan Health. “From providers to nurses and a host of others on a multidisciplinary team, so many key individuals play a role in making a trauma center such an integral resource for the community.”

To learn more about WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital, click here.