Local hospital designated a Level III trauma centre

Southlake Regional Health Centre has officially been identified as a level three trauma centre.

"What this means is better trauma care, improved outcomes and a real partnership with lead trauma hospitals across Ontario," said Stella Johnson, Southlake director of emergency and mental health.

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The Newmarket hospital is one of six sites to be given the new status by Ontario's Regional Trauma Networks.

"Southlake was chosen because of its geographical location in relation to other trauma centres, the high quality of care it was already providing, and the distribution of traumatic injuries being referred to lead trauma centres," explained Dr. Andrew Beckett, president of the Trauma Association of Canada.

Officials at Southlake said trauma is the leading cause of death for Canadians under the age of 45. The health centre cares for over 500 medium acuity trauma patients annually.

"Trauma is really any injury that happens to a patient from an unexpected force or event. It could be something as simple as just having a fall off a step or something major like a gunshot wound or stabbing," defined Leeor Sommer, the trauma medical director at Southlake.

With its new status as a level three trauma centre comes higher quality patient care.

"They'll have timely access to imaging like X-rays and CAT scans, and then if they need to stay here, they'll have appropriate surgical care. If they need to go out, they'll be shipped out to a lead trauma centre," said Sommer.

Southlake also received $250,000 in funding to create three new positions for its new trauma program, including a trauma medical director, a trauma coordinator, and a trauma data analyst.

The trauma code activation will be implemented at the hospital this week. The trauma team will also offer community outreach and education through the Stop the Bleed program.