Nebraska Medical Center Verified as State’s Only Level I Trauma Center

When Nebraska Medicine leadership announced a change to Omaha’s trauma system in August of 2014, the announcement was made with an eye on the future. The goal: to expand its trauma services, provide 24/7/365 care and become a nationally recognized, Level I trauma center. That goal has officially been met, with the American College of Surgeons (ACS) verifying Nebraska Medical Center as a Level I trauma center, recognizing the trauma center’s dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients.

Previously only a state-designated Comprehensive Trauma Center, achieving the ACS verification means Nebraska Medical Center not only provides the hospital resources necessary for trauma care, but also the entire spectrum of care to address the needs of all injured patients. Nebraska Medical Center is now the only ACS-verified Level I trauma center in the state, with the nearest other facilities being in Des Moines, Kansas City and Denver.

There are five separate levels of verification in the ACS program, each with its own set of thorough criteria that must be met to achieve ACS verification. A team of experienced reviewers also conducts an on-site review and evaluates the criteria against the hospital’s actual performance. ACS verification means the medical center provides the full breadth of trauma services to the community via 10 dual-board certified trauma surgeons, all who live in the Omaha community.

Nebraska Medical Center currently employs more than 50 subspecialty physicians who are experts in trauma surgery, neurosurgery, reconstructive surgery, thoracic surgery, vascular surgery, orthopedics, oral maxillofacial surgery, urology, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat) and ophthalmology. The hospital also has a dozen physicians certified in pediatric critical care and pediatric surgery.