The Mississippi State Department of Health has designated North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo as a Level II Trauma Center and Secondary Pediatric Trauma Center in the Mississippi Trauma Care System.
NMMC is one of five Level II Trauma Centers in Mississippi and one of two in the north half of the state to earn this designation.
According to the MSDH criteria, a Level II Trauma Center is an acute care facility with the commitment, resources and specialty training necessary to provide sophisticated trauma care. In addition, they must have specific departments, divisions, or sections: General Surgery; Neurological Surgery; Orthopedic Surgery; Emergency Medicine; Anesthesia; Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU); and an Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
In addition, each Trauma Center maintains a Trauma Registry with up-to-date information. "Trauma is any event that causes an injury to the patient," said Wanda Della-Calce, RN, administrator of NMMC's emergency and behavioral health services. "
NMMC is equipped to handle everything but the most complex cases, such as complex pelvis trauma, or those that require pediatric subspecialists. Pediatric patients that require subspecialists are stabilized and then transported to Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center in Memphis."
NMMC first earned its Level II designation in 2000 following the passage of House Bill 966, the Mississippi Trauma Care System Law. NMMC treated approximately 80,000 patients through its Emergency Services Department last year, including patients who walk in on their own, are transported by ambulance or medical helicopter from an accident site or other location, or from another hospital. The volume continues to increase yearly.
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