

To be a verified trauma center requires meeting the standards set by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). The criteria for this designation vary by area and state. A hospital with a trauma center must meet the standards set by the local or state government to be named a designated trauma center. The process of becoming a designated trauma center occurs at the state or local level. Trauma care includes prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. Good quality trauma care plays an important role in preventing deaths and minimizing or preventing disabilities. Trauma centers are always at the ready and are open 24 hours a day to treat patients. A trauma center usually has a helipad so that victims can be brought in quickly by helicopter. There are physicians and nurses with special training, including neurosurgeons, trauma surgeons, and cardiac surgeons, and all staff are trained in trauma care. It often overlaps with emergency care, but trauma care is more specialized. The medical care given to someone who suffers a trauma is called trauma care.

For the purposes of statistics, such injuries are categorized as intentional or unintentional. A trauma may occur as a result of a natural disaster, a work accident, an act of terrorism, active service in war, a fire, or just an accident that could occur anywhere.

Trauma may be caused by an accident, such as a vehicle crash or a fall, or it may be an act of violence such as a gunshot wound. These are injuries that could be fatal or that could cause permanent, long-term, or serious disability. Trauma care is specialized medical care for victims of injuries that are considered physical traumas. Patients may also get transferred from non-trauma emergency rooms to certified trauma centers. There are different levels of trauma centers and patients may be transferred to higher levels for more specialized trauma care. They are staffed by specially trained medical professionals. These are facilities that are specially equipped to handle traumatic injuries. Trauma centers have to meet a set of criteria outlined by the American College of Surgeons and by state and local governments. Care for these injuries is specialized, and while trauma care may be provided at emergency rooms, only certain hospitals and medical facilities are actually designated trauma centers. Motor vehicle accident, violent assaults involving guns or knives, serious falls, and other physical injuries are examples of trauma. Trauma in medicine refers to injuries that have the potential to result in a fatality or a long-term disability.
