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Read the press release here.

Park Slope's New York Methodist Hospital Adds Trauma Center

 Doctors respond to a simulated trauma at New York Methodist Hospital. The hospital was recently designated a Level 2 trauma center and will now treat patients with life-threatening physical injuries such as gunshot wounds.
Doctors respond to a simulated trauma at New York Methodist Hospital. The hospital was recently designated a Level 2 trauma center and will now treat patients with life-threatening physical injuries such as gunshot wounds.
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New York Methodist Hospital

PARK SLOPE — New York Methodist Hospital is now equipped to treat seriously injured victims of shootings, stabbings and car crashes with a state-recognized trauma center, the hospital announced this week.

The New York State Department of Health recently designated Methodist as a trauma center, which means the hospital can "provide life-saving care across all emergency scenarios," hospital officials said in a statement.

The hospital already has an emergency department that treats about 100,000 patients a year for emergencies such as heart attacks and strokes.

The hospital's new trauma center, which is inside the emergency department, will handle patients with blunt or penetrating injuries, significant fractures, gunshot wounds, stabbings and wounds resulting from falls from extreme heights, and car crashes, spokeswoman Lyn Hill said.

 Ambulances outside New York Methodist Hospital in Park Slope. The hospital was recently designated a Level 2 trauma center and will now treat patients with life-threatening physical injuries.
Ambulances outside New York Methodist Hospital in Park Slope. The hospital was recently designated a Level 2 trauma center and will now treat patients with life-threatening physical injuries.
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New York Methodist Hospital

Methodist expects to treat about five to 10 trauma patients a day, most of whom will be brought to the hospital by ambulances with New York City Emergency Medical Services, Hill said. The hospital hasn't hired any new employees specifically for the trauma center, but it has added some new workers in the emergency department.

The state designation came after more than a year of preparation that included renovating trauma bays and conducting drills and simulated trauma events.

Methodist's trauma center is a "Level 2" center, as defined by the American College of Surgeons, Hill said. The state DOH recently adopted the ACS standards, and the Level 2 designation is "more demanding" than the Level 1 designation previously used by the state, Hill said.

"The hospital's trauma team draws on the skills of medical staff members in both the Department of Emergency Medicine and the Department of Surgery, and as a trauma center, we now provide comprehensive treatment for patients with every type and every degree of traumatic injury,” said Dr. Joseph Bove, chairman of emergency medicine, in a statement.

“We’re proud to be able to offer our community the best possible care when they need it most."

The trauma center isn't the only change afoot at Methodist. The hospital expects to start constrution this spring on a new six-story building called the Center for Community Health between Fifth and Sixth streets and Seventh and Eighth avenues. The hospital agreed to scale back the size of the new facility after neighbors sued over the scale of the project.