Only Level III Trauma Center in East TN: Tennova T-Creek
Culminating a roughly 18-month process beginning with the closing of St. Mary’s Medical Center near downtown Knoxville, with Level III Trauma care capability realized in February, this Farragut hospital was granted “provisional status” in June.
“Receiving designation as a Level III Trauma Center allows us to treat more patients with more complex trauma injuries,” Travis Simmons, TTCMC chief nursing officer, said. “Trauma patients may have a short window of time from the occurrence of the injury to definitive specialized care, and this designation means that we can provide trauma patients with the right level of care as quickly as possible.”
“A lot of it has to do with the expertise of your physicians and medical staff, and your capabilities that you’re able to handle from a patient perspective,” Tony Benton, TTCMC chief executive officer, said.
That “expertise,” in addition to Simmons, also includes Dr. Nick Rangnekar, the center’s Trauma Medical director who also serves in general surgery and gastrointestinal endoscopy.
“We ultimately felt there was a need for (Level III) Trauma service to be brought into this particular area because there’s not many trauma hospitals,” Rangnekar said.
Attaining Level III also required hiring a Trauma Program coordinator: Emily Roberts, RN and nurse practitioner, was hired in June.
