Maury Regional earns Level IV trauma center designation only medical center in tennessee with this distinction in 2024

medical center in Tennessee with this distinction in 2024.

All trauma designations begin with a one-year provisional status, which MRMC attained in November 2023, followed by a site visit and extensive review process conducted by the Tennessee Department of Health to achieve a full designation.

Hospitals voluntarily seek designation in order to care for the most seriously injured patients. In Tennessee, trauma level designations include Level I, II, III and IV. The level correlates to the breadth of available resources and the number of patients admitted yearly. Level I trauma centers are typically academic medical centers with physicians across a wide spectrum of surgical specialties on site 24/7, while Level IV designation is a certification for hospitals that can provide life support for trauma patients before transferring them to a higher-level trauma center, if needed, based on the severity of their condition.

"This designation reaffirms our dedication to offering exceptional trauma care for our community when they need it most," said CEO Martin Chaney, MD. "Our team's commitment and expertise have been instrumental in meeting the rigorous standards necessary for Level IV designation. According to the state surveyors who evaluated our program, they believe our size and scope of services closely align with the requirements for Level III designation, which we plan to pursue in the next few years."

MRMC's trauma program features that contribute to Level IV designation include best practice treatment and transfer protocols, trauma nurses and physicians available when patients arrive, a comprehensive quality assessment program, an active community outreach program and submission of trauma data to the state trauma registry.

As a result of this designation, Nicholas J. Jensen, MD, a board-certified emergency medicine physician at MRMC, was invited to serve as Tennessee's first Level IV advisor on the Tennessee Trauma Advisory Council, contributing to trauma care advancement across the state.

For more information about the state of Tennessee's trauma care system plan, visit TN.gov.