Dear Fred_Golden,
Good question!
In evaluating emergency rooms, it is useful to know that “trauma centers” are
rated by the American College of Surgeons. A “Level 1” rated Trauma Center is
considered the best at handling emergency cases, and is defined as a center
providing a “full range of services including Research and Medical Education,”
per Traumacare.Com.
http://traumacare.com/frequentlyasked.html#Levels
Verification of the rating is a voluntary process and is not required by state
or national agencies. There are only 214 “Level 1” trauma centers throughout
the entire U.S.
I searched the The Official New York City website (www.nyc.gov) for “level 1
trauma”, and found the following hospitals.
Jacobi Medical Center (in The Bronx)
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/jacobi/html/third_level/medserv/traumacenter.html
Elmhurst Hospital Center (in Queens)
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/html/elmhurst.html
Harlem Hospital Center (in Harlem)
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/html/harlem1.html
Bellevue Hospital Center (in Manhattan)
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/bellevue/html/emergency_dept.html
A map of all The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation facilities in
New York (including the above four centers) can be found at:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/html/map.html
In 2001, “US News and World Report” conducted a study of the nation’s best
hospitals.
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/nycu/health/hosptl/tophosp.htm.
The magazine evaluated hospitals based on 17 different specialties. (Note that
Emergency Care was NOT one of the specialties.) To find a listing of the
highest ranked hospitals in New York City visit the link above. Interestingly,
the hospitals in New York City that were selected by “US News and World
Report,” do not include ANY of the Level 1 hospitals listed above.
If you need immediate care (ambulance), the main number for the Emergency
Medical Service Command at the FDNY is (718) 999-2770/1753
Additional Info
The City of New York has a public benefit corporation called The New York City
Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC). The main HHC web page can be found at:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/home.html
The HHC provides public healthcare to all of New York City, and anyone may
receive care at any HHC facility. According to the HHC website, “The
Corporation consists of 11 acute care hospitals, 6 Diagnostic and Treatment
Centers, 4 long-term care facilities, 7 Communicare Centers, 46 Child Health
Clinics, 6 Oral Health Clinics and a home health care agency.”
How to get more information
For more information on trauma centers throughout the U.S., go to:
Trauma Care
http://www.traumacare.com/frequentlyasked.html.
This site provides a FAQ with some good references to comprehensive offline
publications.
Healthgrades.com
http://www.healthgrades.com/public/index.cfm?
fuseaction=mod&modtype=HRC&modact=HRC_search_form
You can filter by procedure and/or by state on this site.
Press, Ganey
http://www.pressganey.com/research/resources/satmon/text/bin/80.shtm
Press, Ganey is another company that evaluates hospitals.
New York Metro
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/bestdoctors/find/
Go here to find a list of New York’s best doctors, according to the “New York
Metro.”
TheRubins.com
http://www.therubins.com/aging/hospratII.htm
This is an article about how to select the best hospitals by Harold Rubin, MS,
ABD, CRC. There is some specific information for New York residents at the
bottom of the article.
I hope this information is useful and I hope that you never have to use it! |
