Fresno County has only one Trauma Center in the area. Patients with the most severe injuries are rushed to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno to be admitted to the Table Mountain Rancheria Trauma Center. It’s a Level I Trauma Center. Level I is the highest designation for trauma centers. They are designed to give those with traumatic injuries the fastest care and the best chance of survival.
Below you will find information about what a trauma center is and about the trauma center available in Fresno.
Where Is Fresno’s Trauma Center?
Fresno County has only one trauma center:
Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno is home to the Table Mountain Rancheria Trauma Center. It’s the only Level 1 trauma center between Los Angeles and Sacramento. The Hospital and Trauma Center is located in downtown Fresno.
Community Regional Medical Center & Table Mountain Rancheria Trauma Center
2823 Fresno Street
Fresno, CA 93721
(559) 459-6000
What is a Traumatic Injury?
Physical trauma is caused by forces outside the body, either blunt or penetrating, that require immediate medical treatment. These serious injuries can be caused by a fall, a car accident, assaults, burns, and other hazards.
Psychological distress is a different type of trauma (emotional trauma) but can be triggered by the experience of suffering physical trauma.
Severity of Injury
Certain types of traumatic injuries commonly result from vehicle crashes and require a trip to a trauma center. Some of these are:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Skull fractures
- Collapsed lungs
- Crush injuries
- Burn injuries
What is a Trauma Center?
Conventionally part of emergency departments, a Trauma Center is a medical care unit found in a licensed hospital. Each state has laws that designate the levels of each trauma center and outlines what is required to meet a certain level. Most states follow the same general designations so that there is uniformity in the meaning of the different levels of trauma care.
California’s 81 designated Trauma Centers receive and admit over 70,000 patients per year. They are designated by a Local Emergency Medical Services Agency (LEMSA). They house as at a minimum, a multidisciplinary trauma team, and a basic emergency department. Some of the specially trained health care providers at trauma centers may include trauma surgeons, neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, cardiac surgeons, and radiologists.
Types of Trauma Centers In California
Like most states, California uses a level system to designate the type of trauma care available with each center. These are defined by the California Emergency Medical Services (EMSA).
- Level I and level II trauma centers are equipped and staffed to offer the highest level of medical care. They have similar medical professionals and resources with the greatest difference being that level I’s are research and teaching facilities.
- Level III and level IV trauma centers generally provide initial stabilization of trauma patients. Some patients are transferred from Level III and IV to Level I & II when needed. Level III facilities generally have more advanced surgical capabilities than Level IV facilities.
- Pediatric trauma centers focus specifically on care for infants, children, and adolescents. The Level I pediatric centers require some additional pediatric specialties, research, and teaching responsibilities.
