As a ACS-verified Level I Adult, Level II Pediatric Trauma Center, Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH)—Northwell Health provides care to the area’s most critically ill and injured patients.
SIUH’s trauma team is made up of a variety of specialties, including trauma surgeons, general surgeons, rotating residents in the trauma residency program, mid-level providers, as well as neurosurgery, radiology, orthopedics, and their subsequent residents and mid-level providers.
After being verified, SIUH is now in a constant, progressive phase-in, continually building and maintaining the trauma program.
Becoming an ACS-Verified Center
In 2011, New York decided to adopt the American College of Surgeon’s (ACS) Committee on Trauma standards and verification process to designate trauma centers in the state. The detail-oriented ACS verification process is challenging, but drove trauma centers to boost their quality of care.
During the verification process, Christopher struggled to find an effective, sustainable way for the trauma team to meet their CME requirements. He knew the benefits of doing an internal education program, but also knew the amount of work and time went into creating and maintaining content. The program had to be performance-improvement driven, evidence-based, peer-reviewed and with all of Christopher’s other responsibilities, he had to find a better way.
Weighing the Options
“We considered sending our team to a trauma conference to get their external CMEs, but it wasn’t a cost-effective option. With over $50,000 in conference fees, we knew it wasn’t the biggest bang for the buck,” shared Christopher.
Then, a colleague introduced Christopher to Relias Trauma Reports as an easy way to get the latest evidence-based information for physicians and nurses. Christopher saw the opportunity and value of having an online trauma curriculum.
“For the cost and the number of licenses we needed, the decision to invest in Trauma Reports was a no-brainer.”
Reasonable, Relevant Content
SIUH’s adult and pediatric trauma teams have been using Relias Trauma Reports since 2015, currently holding 100 licenses. The majority of all services utilize the online modules to fulfill their CME requirements.
Over the past years, the feedback from staff has been positive and consistent. The content is relevant and on par with current topics of discussion in the industry, including hemorrhage control, massive transfusions, resuscitations, and concussion injuries. Christopher recalled using one of the recent articles as part of a compilation of evidence to build new protocol for internal use.
“My trauma medical director is a huge supporter of Trauma Reports. He says that the literature is consistent and that the reading and the self-assessments at the end are reasonable.”
Advice to Other Trauma Centers
“Trauma Reports is well worth the investment for current, high-quality educational material that enhances the education of your trauma providers. What Relias does and the content they offer is really good—I recommend Relias Trauma Reports!” shares Christopher.
