Scope of Service

Overview:

The Trauma and Emergency Center is a 56-bed unit dedicated to the care of illnesses and injuries ranging from non urgent concerns to those that may be potentially life or limb threatening. The clinical decision unit houses an additional 16 beds that provide 23-hour care to targeted diagnoses. Patients are admitted to the T&EC by ambulance, private access, physician referral or regional transfers are cared for regardless of ability to pay for services. Arrangements are made for those patients who need admission and have no personal physician.

Types and Ages of Patients:

Neonatal, Pediatric, Adult and Geriatric patient populations are served. Internal customers are identified as all service/management/administrative personnel within the health care system. External customers are those who seek care for themselves or others in the T&EC.

Conditions and Diagnoses Treated:

Health assessment and care is provided for all patient illness/injury types relating to each organ system or combination of systems.

Types of Service and Care Provided:

Non urgent, semi-urgent, urgent and emergent care is provided in the T&EC. Each patient is triaged by a registered nurse and assigned an acuity designation in order to prioritize patient health care needs. Treatment priority is based on patient need. The clinical decision area is for 23-hour stay/care related to targeted diagnoses.

Sites Where Care and Service is Provided:

Care/Service is provided in the Bronson T&EC located in the West Pavilion at 601 John Street, Kalamazoo, Mich. 49007.

Method of Patient Care Delivery:

A team approach to patient care is the delivery system utilized in this department. Registered Nurses (R.N.) develop the patient plan of care with the patient, family and interdisciplinary collaboration. Direct patient care is provided by RNs, Paramedics, LPN’s, and Patient Care Assistants (PCA's), who function under the direct supervision of the R.N. The Charge Nurse assigns paramedics and PCA’s to a specific team. RNs delegate specific tasks to the Paramedic, LPN’s and PCA's to support the delivery of nursing services based on their individual competencies. A 24 hour/ 7day a week monitor technician observes all patients on a monitor in the T&EC and the clinical decision unit. Case management is available 12 hours a day specific to the T&EC population. Dedicated Social Workers are present in the departments 16 hours per day with the last 8 hours on call availability or on site chaplain coverage. Child Life staff is present on the 3-11 shift 7 days per week. A dedicated T&EC pharmacist is located in the department and is utilized as a resource for all 3 units. An outpatient pharmacy is available to fill prescriptions for ED patients between the hours of 6 pm and 2 am. A Charge Nurse oversees the provision of all patient care, manages unit variability and serves as a clinical resource. The process for reviewing and adjusting staff to meet patient needs and unusual occurrences is the responsibility of the Charge Nurse. There are Unit Coordinators for each shift responsible for the direct supervision of each shift. There is a Clinical Nurse Specialist dedicated to the ED. The Director and Nurse Manager share the overall responsibility for the department.

Time When Care and Service is Provided:

Care is provided to patients in the T&EC seven days/week, 24 hours/day.