Caring for our community
Kaiser Permanente’s South Sacramento Medical Center is proud to now offer an enhanced level of life-saving care to victims of traumatic injuries. Our Level II Trauma Center, which opened Aug. 1, 2009, is the south area’s first trauma center.

While we’ve long cared for patients with traumatic injuries, a trauma designation for our medical center means paramedics and other first responders are directed to transport some of the most severely injured patients to our hospital via both ground and air transportation.

Most injured patients come from a wide geographic area that roughly stretches east of Interstate 5 to a small area of Rancho Cordova, and south of Florin Road to the San Joaquin County line. Severe pediatric injuries and burn cases continue to be directed to the area’s only Level I Trauma Center at UC Davis Medical Center.

Leading the way
In late 2007, after a competitive bidding process, the County of Sacramento nominated Kaiser Permanente’s South Sacramento Medical Center as the best and most capable hospital to offer trauma services in the south area.

Since that time, we’ve been preparing a top-notch program by participating in on-going training, purchasing necessary equipment, and hiring exceptional physicians and staff. Leading our program is a nationally renowned trauma expert, Joseph Karam, MD, FACS, Medical Director of Trauma Services and Surgical Critical Care. Dr. Karam previously served five years as medical director of the Level I trauma center at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia.

Our medical center recently underwent a successful survey by the American College of Surgeons, an organization that sets the standards for the nation’s trauma programs.

Where is the Trauma Center?
Our Trauma Center is not a separate building or new facility where critically injured patients are treated. In fact, our entire South Sacramento Medical Center is the Trauma Center. Adult patients with traumatic, life-threatening injuries are first be seen in our Emergency Department — which is open to all and is the south area’s largest and busiest ER. Patients are cared for and tracked throughout their hospital stay and after discharge via our sophisticated electronic medical record system.

Our ongoing $300 million expansion on the South Sacramento campus, which is expected to be completed in phases through 2010, will further support our ability to provide high-quality trauma care to the community. We’re expanding our Emergency Department to 41 beds, adding operating room capacity, building a helipad for quick helicopter access, and constructing a new 136-bed hospital tower.

Experts in trauma care
Our Trauma Center is staffed 24/7 with physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals who have special training in treating critical injuries to the head, spine and vital organs. A trauma surgeon is always be in-house, and we have 24-hour immediate coverage by general surgeons as well as other specialists.

We also have 28 ER physicians who have trained at Level I trauma centers, as well as other specialists, including neurosurgeons; general surgeons; neurointerventionalists; neuro-radiologists; orthopedic surgeons; oral and ear-nose-throat specialists; plastic surgeons; and anesthesiologists.

By adding the expertise and resources of our trauma center, we strengthen the region’s ability to respond and care for more injuries in the event of a major disaster or catastrophe.

Trauma Prevention
The Kaiser Permanente Trauma Prevention Program is dedicated to the promotion of healthy behaviors and the prevention of injury and death through education and outreach.

We have developed sustainable partnerships with local community groups, government agencies, and schools to focus on prevention and intervention strategies to reduce trauma-related injuries. Our community funding will focus on programs that promote safety, injury prevention, and reduce domestic violence, gang violence, and child abuse. To round this out, Kaiser Permanente will provide ongoing education programs for the community, emergency medical services’ providers and schools. Click here to read more about our Trauma Prevention Program.