Lehigh Valley Hospital–Schuylkill Accredited as a Level IV Trauma Center

Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Schuylkill has been approved by the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation (PTSF) Board of Directors as a Level IV Trauma Center effective November 1, 2023. 

The PTSF is a non-profit corporation recognized by the Emergency Medical Services Act (Act 1985-45). The PTSF is the organization responsible for accrediting trauma centers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

As a Level IV trauma center, LVH–Schuylkill has the resources immediately available to provide optimal care and reduce the likelihood of death or disability to injured patients. Accredited trauma centers must be continuously prepared to treat the most serious life-threatening and disabling injuries. 

The emergency medical services (EMS) system is an integral component to a trauma center. The EMS system assures appropriate patient care management from the time of injury to treatment at a local trauma center through the rehabilitative phase of care.

“Care for the trauma patient begins out in the field, at the scene before a person comes in through our emergency department,” says Marc Bonin, DO, Medical Director of Emergency Medicine and Trauma Director at LVH–Schuylkill. “Coordination of care with our pre-hospital providers and between specialties and departments within the hospital, and the level of medical care provided to patients, has taken a giant leap forward with this accreditation. Trauma accreditation signifies that our hospital has significantly elevated our ability to not only care for the injured in our community, but for the provision of medical care in every area of the hospital.”

Level IV trauma centers, often smaller in size and located in a rural area, can provide initial care and stabilization of traumatic injuries while arranging transfer to a higher level of trauma care. A Level IV Trauma Center has demonstrated an ability to provide Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) prior to transfer of patients to a higher-level trauma center according to the PTSF. It provides timely evaluation, stabilization and diagnostic capabilities for injured patients utilizing ATLS protocols and 24-hour laboratory/diagnostic coverage.

In Pennsylvania there are four levels of trauma centers. Level I trauma centers provide the highest degree of resources with a full spectrum of specialists and must have trauma research and surgical residency programs. Level II trauma centers meet the same high level of care but do not require research and residency programs and many subspecialists in cardiac surgery, hand surgery, vascular re-implantation, oral/maxillofacial surgery, otorhinolaryngological surgery, neurology, physiatry and psychiatry. Level III trauma centers are smaller community hospitals that do not require neurosurgeons and focus on stabilizing severe trauma patients prior to transport to a higher-level trauma center. They may admit patients with mild and moderate injuries. Level IV trauma centers provide enhanced care to injured patients within the emergency department and focus on stabilization and quick transfer to a higher-level trauma center. They may admit mildly injured patients.

Each trauma center regardless of its level is an integral component of the emergency medical services (EMS) system. The EMS system assures appropriate patient care management from the time of injury to treatment at a local hospital or trauma center through the rehabilitative phase of care.

In addition to the Level IV Trauma Accreditation, LVH–Schuylkill is also a Certified Chest Pain Center and an Accredited Primary Stroke Center.