Doctor on Call: Ascension St. John earns Level I trauma upgrade, expands neurotrauma care in Tulsa

What does this upgrade mean for Tulsa?

“This is huge because for people in northeastern Oklahoma and really for the people in the four-state area, they're able to get the highest level of care right here at home. And this is something that's been years in the making, a close collaboration between our colleagues at the University of Oklahoma, Tulsa School of Medicine, as well as the folks at Ascension across the different disciplines, to be able to bring really top-notch care. From the moment you touch the hospital at the entrance, all the way to the point where you're leaving the hospital to go either home or to a rehab facility, we're able to provide total holistic care.”

How significant is this designation nationally?

“To put things into perspective, of all the hospitals in the United States, only 290 hospitals have both level one designation as a trauma center and a comprehensive stroke center designation, which we carry. So really what we have here is the top notch for neurological and orthopedic and general care comparable to any place, any major hospital in the United States.”

What does this mean for patients in the region?

“It's huge because people are able to get care close to home. Instead of being sent away to distant locations where their loved ones can't be involved in their recovery and in their care, we can provide all of it right here.”

How does this coincide with St. John’s 100th anniversary?

“It's exciting for us because our 100th anniversary is coming up at St. John's, and this is just a nice icing on the cake for us to be able to bring this to the people of Oklahoma.”

What are some of the most common preventable neurotrauma injuries?

“Honestly, especially during the summer, some of the most commonly preventable ones are ones that could have been avoided by wearing your seatbelt and wearing helmets. People overlook that, but those are some of the most commonly preventable ones.

We've talked about this before—amongst the youth, cheerleading and gymnastic accidents in girls and football accidents in boys during their teenage years also happen to be very common causes of injury. Some of those can be prevented with good practices at the time of practice and participation in sports. Some of it is just about making sure that children and their parents and coaches are educated.”

What can patients expect differently now with this upgrade?

“Really, we've been doing what we do now for years, because we really have been delivering level one care to the region, really for many, many years. This designation really just solidifies it.

But from the moment you walk in, you've got dedicated teams that care for the totality of the patient, not only their traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury, but also injuries to other organ systems. You go to a dedicated unit where you've got a two-to-one nursing ratio, where there's close nursing care, and then you've got a dedicated team of intensivists and physiatrists who work closely with you to start the recovery process from the moment you essentially hit the hospital.”

Can people recover from traumatic brain injuries?

“That’s not true, that people can’t recover. I think the earliest rehab is initiated, there's good data supporting early recovery. But now we've got some other tools, one which I'm particularly proud of, vagal nerve stimulation, which has shown promise as an adjunct for therapy, which we also offer. Really, the only hospital in the region who can provide that holistic care for the recovery of the patient who is traumatically injured.”