MONROE — The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has officially verified SSM Health Monroe Hospital as a Level III Trauma Center.

This achievement is the culmination of dedicated work by multiple teams to improve best practices leading to better patient outcomes in providing this level of critical care to local rural communities. SSM Health Monroe Hospital is one of 41 hospitals in Wisconsin with Level III Trauma Certification. 

“Being certified as a Level III Trauma Center will allow more individuals to stay local in an emergency, which is a tremendous benefit to our communities that can be utilized whether you are an SSM Health patient or not,” said Mary Tessendorf, EMS Coordinator at SSM Health Monroe Hospital. 

Level III Trauma Center hospitals provide assessment, resuscitation, stabilization and emergency surgery and arranges transfer to a Level I or II facility for definitive surgical and intensive care as necessary. They must have 24-hour coverage by emergency medicine providers, general surgeon is available to respond to the hospital within 30 minutes and provide care to injured people within capabilities and resources in order to stabilize and transfer to another facility. This is in addition to having agreements with other hospitals for transferring trauma patients and providing education and training to pre-hospital partners. 

There are five separate categories of trauma verification that hospitals can achieve, and it is a lengthy process. For SSM Health Monroe Hospital, this process began in January 2020 with thorough reporting during which the hospital needed to provide it had the resources and staff to care for patients in with serious injuries. That reporting period concluded with a successful survey in September 2021. 

“Just striving for this level improved the quality of care for our patients, let alone receiving this distinction, speaks volumes to the dedication and collaboration of our teams,” said Jane Curran-Meuli, President of SSM Health Monroe Hospital and Monroe Clinic Medical Group. “I want to thank our extraordinary staff for all of their efforts to find new ways to provide exceptional care.”