POINT PLEASANT — Pleasant Valley Hospital recently received their permanent status to be a Level IV trauma center, according to Al Lawson, President and Chief Executive Officer.

“Pleasant Valley Hospital has a long tradition of providing excellent care to trauma patients,” said Lawson. “By pursuing the Level IV designation, and meeting or exceeding these statewide standards, we are formalizing our commitment to continue to provide high quality trauma care to our community.”

A trauma center is a categorization of hospital resources which identifies it as capable of handling trauma patients and enables emergency medical services’ providers to transport patients to the most appropriate medical facilities. Trauma centers are classified as levels I, II, III and IV depending on their resources, admissions, staff, research and education involvement.

The Level IV designation is important to Mason County because trauma patients will now receive a higher level of care — more than the standard care in emergency rooms with no trauma designation.

Pleasant Valley Hospital has worked for several years to get the staff trained and collect appropriate date to complete the process. James Toothman, DO, Clinical Coordinator and Medical Director of the Emergency Care Center, and Jackie Stewart, RN, Nurse Manager, were the team leaders of the initiative.

A Level IV designation verifies that Pleasant Valley Hospital has the expertise and resources to provide quality care to trauma patients. At PVH, trauma professionals are available 24 hours a day to respond to trauma emergencies, and nurse clinicians attend each trauma patient throughout the day for care advancement and coordination. Trauma data is collected and entered into a registry database for quality improvement and injury prevention initiatives.

“Pleasant Valley Hospital is proud to be part of the state’s trauma system for the better care of patients,” said Toothman.