The 4th annual pediatric trauma conference was held on August

20th. The Trauma department, with partners, University of

Nevada School of Medicine and The Children’s Hospital of

Southern Nevada worked many hours to make this conference

the success that it was. UMC was honored to present the re-

vered Dr. Edward M. Barksdale as our keynote speaker, pre-

senting the topic of “Children Can’t Fly: The Myth of Peter

Pan”. Along with Dr. Jay Fisher, Dr. Alexander Feliz, Dr.

Charles Zahalka, Dr. Mathew Ragsdell, and Stephanie Teague,

paramedic, participants gained vital information in understand-

ing and treating kids with fall and crush injuries and airway

difficulties.

Over 135 Physicians, nurses, EMS and ancillary personnel attended the Pediatric conference, with a

strong presence from outside our local area. This represents a 20% increase from last year. This con-

ference has become a mainstay in pediatric trauma CME offerings in our region, and we anticipate

further growth in future years. Thank you to our outstanding speakers, community sponsors and atten-

dees for contributing to this valuable conference.

Dear UMC Trauma Center,

Thank you so much for inviting us to your trauma conference last week, but most especially

for the personalized care we received by your trauma program. We learned so much during the tour!

We look forward to working with you in the future. You are an extraordinary group.

L.L. and the other “Dixie Chicks”

We welcome Melody Talbott, RN, BSN, MBA to the position of Assistant

Director of Trauma Services. Melody came to UMC from California in

1995, and started in Surgical Care Unit/SICU. Most recently, she managed

the Burn Center for the past 5 years. In addition to natural leadership skills,

Mel brings a wealth of nursing and management experience. Outside of

work, she stays busy with her three boys Tony – 17, Kenny – 8, and Ben – 7

and her husband Tom, who works in UMC’s Central Supply department.

Mel enjoys waterskiing with her family, playing with her dog, Sugar, and

playing sports. Gregg Fusto, RN, Director of Trauma Services expressed

his pleasure at having acquired such talent in Mel, and looks forward to

building an even stronger trauma department with her on board.

Mary Martinat, RN, recently joined our team as Outreach and Prevention

Coordinator. Mary started at UMC in 1991 in the Medical ICU, spent sev-

eral years in Trauma ICU, and became the Burn Center Outreach Coordina-

tor in 2004. In addition to years of critical care experience in the trauma and

burn specialties, Mary possesses vast community ties which are vital to

building a strong outreach program. After hours, Mary spends much of her

time on the tennis court and enjoying her close knit family.

We welcome Mary to the Trauma department!

Pediatric Trauma Conference Huge Success!Pediatric Trauma Conference Huge Success!Pediatric Trauma Conference Huge Success!Pediatric Trauma Conference Huge Success!

Our Growing TeamOur Growing TeamOur Growing TeamOur Growing Team

U N I V E R S I T Y U N I V E R S I T Y U N I V E R S I T Y U N I V E R S I T Y

M E D I C A L M E D I C A L M E D I C A L M E D I C A L

C E N T E RC E N T E RC E N T E RC E N T E R Inside UMC Trauma S E P T E M B E R

T h e T r a um a C e n t e r ’ s h i g h l y s p e c i a l i z e d

m e d i c a l p e r s o n -n e l a n d d e d i -c a t e d r e s o u r c e s a r e f o c u s e d o n i n j u r e d p a t i e n t s r e c e i v i n g l i f e s a v i n g t r a um a c a r e t h a t m e e t s o r e x c e e d s t h e s t a n d a r d s f o u n d a t t o p r a t e d

t r a um a c e n t e r s a c r o s s t h e

U n i t e d S t a t e s .

O f f e r i n g t h e h i g h e s t l e v e l o f t r a um a c a r e i n t h e s t a t e o f N e -v a d a , UMC i s a c o r e c om po n e n t o f N e v a d a ’ s em e r g e n c y

m e d i c a l s y s t em . T h i s l e v e l o f

c a r e f o r i n j u r e d p a t i e n t s i s c o n -t i n u o u s l y p u r -s u e d t h r o u g h c l i n i c a l c a r e

s e r v i c e s , a c t i v e r e s e a r c h , e d u c a -t i o n , a n d p r e -v e n t i o n p r o -

g r am s . T h e f a -c i l i t y a n d i t s s t a f f m em b e r s p r o v i d e s 2 4 - h o u r c a r e , s t a n d i n g b y t o r e c e i v e , s t a b i l i z e , a n d t r e a t t h o s e

w h o s e l i v e s a r e t h r e a t e n e d b y m u l t i s y s t em i n j u r i e s , b r a i n i n j u r i e s , s p i n a l c o r d i n j u r i e s , o r t h o p a e d i c i n -j u r i e s , a n d

t h o s e a t r i s k f o r m u l t i s y s t em o r g a n f a i l u r e .

2 0 1 0 V O L U M E , I S S U E 7

Keynote Speaker, Dr. Edward M.

Barksdale, speaks to a rapt audience

UMC Trauma Department and the Emergency

Preparedness Committee partnered with the

North Las Vegas Fire Department for a six night

mass casualty exercise. Seven “critical” patients

were transported from the scene of a mock bus

crash each of the six nights. The fire department

tested city wide radio response through the all

call system, as well as scene management, extri-

cation and triage skills. Once in the trauma re-

suscitation area, the “patients” were assessed

and clinical decisions discussed. Several differ-

ent areas of the hospital, including the ED, Pedi-

atric ED, and the floors, participated to test their

ability to handle disaster situations. Special

thanks to those who participated. In November,

all area hospitals will take place in a mass casu-

alty exercise with upwards of 200 mock patients

county wide. This will be the first time Las Ve-

gas hospitals will have the opportunity to inter-

act in a mock disaster exercise.

2 0 1 0 V O L U M E , I S S U E 7

American College of Surgeons Review Year!

UMC’s Level One Trauma Center and Level II Pediatric

Trauma Center will host the American College of Surgeons

(ACS) for their Verification site visit on October 17 and 18.

Level I designation means that UMC Trauma has demon-

strated that it is has trained and capable personnel available 24

hours a day, seven days a week for diagnosing and treating the

most critically injured patients. It also means our trauma center

has the facilities and equipment necessary to provide special-

ized care and our staff are actively involved in ongoing self-

assessment of care and of our system. As the Level I trauma

center, UMC is recognized as the lead center in the Clark

County trauma system. We are also responsible to be the re-

gional leader in trauma care, outreach, prevention and educa-

tion.

So what does an ACS review mean to UMC Trauma? It

means that we continue to do what we do best! During this

pre-review period, the trauma office personnel are busy gather-

ing data from the past three years (the length of a review pe-

riod) to present to the reviewers. Following the ACS’s “Green

Book” of resources, data is analyzed, performance evaluated

and improvements made, and the integrity of our national

trauma data base scrutinized. The ACS review team then puts

our trauma system through a rigorous examination process.

Studies show that hospitals that have successfully completed

the trauma center verification process have better patient out-

comes that those that do not. This will be our Seventh ACS

review for Level I Trauma Center designation, and our Second

for the Pediatric Level II designation.

If you are interested in learning more about the ACS verifica-

tion process, visit the our website at www.umcsn.com or stop

by the Trauma Services Department.

July Disaster Drill with North Las Vegas FireJuly Disaster Drill with North Las Vegas FireJuly Disaster Drill with North Las Vegas FireJuly Disaster Drill with North Las Vegas Fire

Remember to pick up Remember to pick up Remember to pick up Remember to pick up your your your your

“Trauma Gear” in“Trauma Gear” in“Trauma Gear” in“Trauma Gear” in the Gift Shop!the Gift Shop!the Gift Shop!the Gift Shop!

Looking Forward…Looking Forward…Looking Forward…Looking Forward… October 6 October 6 October 6 October 6 – Walk Our Children to School Day October 12 October 12 October 12 October 12 – Safe Kids Clark County Meeting October 17, 18 October 17, 18 October 17, 18 October 17, 18 – ACS Reverification October 21, 22 October 21, 22 October 21, 22 October 21, 22 – Every 15 Minutes at Southwest Career and Technical School November 9 November 9 November 9 November 9 – Safe Kids Clark County Meeting

Mass casualty “victims” were transported

to and cared for in the Trauma Center

September is National

Preparedness Month!

Dynamic Mannequin Training

Trauma hosted the August EMSC meeting. Bob Heath,

Nevada State EMS Education Coordinator, brought a set of

pediatric mannequins and an OB simulation mannequin for

us to experiment on. We were allowed to keep the pediatric

mannequin, and will have the full set for our use from Octo-

ber to December. The mannequins are amazingly respon-

sive and customizable to limitless scenarios.