A traumatic injury is never planned and can happen at anytime, anywhere. It could be internal injuries from a motor vehicle crash, gunshot wound, knife or burns from a fiery explosion. Maybe it is bleeding in the brain or multiple broken bones from a fall. A trauma is a life or limb threatening injury, so severe that the body's systems begin to shut down.

No matter how it happens, you would want an experienced trauma team of medical professionals, who have seen it all. That's what you will find at the Level 1 Trauma Center at Broward General Medical Center.

Trauma is a surgical specialty that is vastly different from routine emergency care. Hospital emergency departments are equipped to treat everything from a headache to a heart attack. An emergency department is NOT a trauma center. A trauma center treats those suffering from an injury so severe that it could cause death if not attended to within the first 60 minutes.

To receive designation of "Trauma Center", a hospital has to meet strict standards established by the Florida Department of Health, based on the guidelines of the American College of Surgeons. Currently, there are 21 state-approved trauma centers strategically located across Florida. Broward General Medical Center is one of only 7 Level 1 trauma centers in the State of Florida.

Broward County residents are fortunate. We have three highly rated trauma centers, two of which are part of Broward Health. No matter where you are in Broward County, one of those trauma centers is just minutes away.

History

Care for trauma victims has been provided by Broward General Medical Center since 1993 as a Level II Trauma Center. In 1998 our institution was accredited by the state of Florida as a Level I Trauma Center, the largest in Broward County.  The Trauma Center at Broward General Medical Center is the only one treating pediatric patients in the northern two-thirds of the county and is equipped to treat the youngest trauma patients. Today Broward General is one of only 7 facilities in Florida to attain this high level of trauma accreditation.  

In December 2005 our new Trauma Center facility was inaugurated to expand and improve our capabilities of providing the highest level of care to trauma victims. This expansion included 4 state of the art trauma/resuscitation rooms and 6 observation rooms dedicated to the care of trauma patients allowing us to manage multiple injured patients or mass casualty disasters. The Intensive Care Unit was also expanded to 24 private beds. A dedicated operating room suite is also available just for trauma patients 24 hours a day.

Find out more about the Clinical Services and Patient Care Services available at our Trauma Center, or learn about how Trauma Centers link to Emergency Medical Services.

Trauma Center Medical and Administrative Staff

Medical Staff
Ivan Puente MD, FACS, Trauma Medical Director
Pedro Gonzalez MD, Associate Trauma Medical Director
Michael Parra MD, Trauma Research Director
Edgar Rodas MD
Moshe Stav MD
Ralph Guarneri MD
Ronald Moore MD
Joseph Catino MD
Michele Markley MD, Pediatric Trauma Medical Director
Roberto Puglisi MD, Pediatric Surgery
Clifford Lakin MD
John Karpiak ARNP, Trauma Nurse Practitioner

Administrative Staff
Paul Taber RN, BSN, Regional Manager/Trauma Program Manager
Mary Chabriel RN, Trauma Quality Management Specialist
Linda Roberts RN, Trauma Acute Care Case Manager
Joan Martin MSW, Trauma Social Worker
Joanne Puia RN, Trauma Nurse Outreach/Research Coordinator
Mabel Nazzarri, Administrative Assistant
Denise Richards, Trauma Registrar
Veneice Walcott, Trauma Registrar
Jeanne Jenkins, Trauma Registrar