The Emergency Department nursing team and a veteran trauma surgeon at the Level II trauma center of MidHudson Regional Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), were recognized for extraordinary medical excellence by the Dutchess County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Council.
The honors came two months after MidHudson Regional Hospital passed a rigorous, peer review process by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), which verified the hospital's George T. Whalen Family Trauma Center with Level II status. This is significant as New York State now only uses the ACS verification program as its standard to designate trauma centers.
MidHudson Regional in Poughkeepsie was the first and continues to be the only hospital between New York City and Albany to earn ACS Level II designation and joins fellow WMCHealth members Westchester Medical Center (Level I adult) and Maria Fareri Children's Hospital (Level I pediatric) with ACS verification.
At the Dutchess County EMS Council awards dinner on June 28 at Union Vale Fire Department and Rescue Squad Station No. 1 in Verbank, the 33-member Emergency Department nursing team, along with the director of nursing and two clinical coordinators, received the "Registered Professional Nurses of Excellence" award for superior coordination and continuity of care of trauma patients during their transition to hospital care from emergency medical technician care.
The nursing staff's professionalism when working with EMTs is consistently exceptional, ensuring trauma and other emergency patients receive the highest-quality care during the change from one healthcare setting to another, the council said.
Trauma surgeon Zubair Zoha, MD, received the "Physician of Excellence" award "for his years of service and guidance to the providers he has touched, from prehospital to the ED and trauma staff," the council said. Zoha, part of the mid-Hudson region's trauma-emergency care services community since 1998, helped develop MidHudson Regional's trauma center "to what it is today," the council said. He also has a long history of readily sharing his knowledge and experience with other hospital staff members and EMTs, the council said.
"We are honored to receive this recognition from our colleagues in the Dutchess County EMS Council," said Rifat Latifi, MD, FACS, Director of the Department of Surgery at Westchester Medical Center, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital and MidHudson Regional Hospital, all members of WMCHealth. "This recognition, especially coming on the heels of the American College of Surgeons' Level II verification of MidHudson Regional Hospital's trauma center, affirms the steadfast commitment of our trauma center and Emergency Department to providing the highest level of care to all patients."
MidHudson Regional Hospital's Level II trauma center is qualified to initiate definitive care for all injured patients. It offers 24-hour immediate coverage by general surgeons, as well as coverage by the specialties of orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology and critical care. It provides trauma prevention and continuing education programs for staff and incorporates a comprehensive quality-assessment program.