The Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria MN recently added on a new surgery center but that is not the only good news, they are now certified to be a Level 3 Trauma center, meaning that when someone comes into the Emergency Room with a life threatening injury they will be able to get more of the care that they need right here in Alex. Rather than being sent to St. Cloud or even being sent to HCMC in Minneapolis, The problem as Barb Friedrichs, RN, Senior Clinical Director said, is that "the time from injury to getting sustainable medical care is considered the Golden Hour, many patients who come in with severe life threatening injuries do not have a very long 'golden hour' so to be able to care for them here should help significantly."
I am glad that DCH is now a Level 3 Trauma center, I plan on going to college for Nursing and hope one day to work in The Emergency Room, I think that a level three trauma center would be a great addition to the hospital; No, Alexandria doesn't have that many critical patients but; when it is does happen, we need to have the staff with the correct know how to handle the certain patient with their life threatening injury. Fast, professional care is very important. I think that definitely the addition of a Level 3 Trauma center will really make a difference during that critical golden hour.
http://dchospital.com/news/News_level3.pdf
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