Level 1 Trauma, Stroke & STEMI Center

To be recognized as a Level 1 Trauma Center, a hospital must be equipped and staffed to provide comprehensive and skilled services to severely injured patients. Staff members – including physicians, residents, nurses, respiratory therapists, social workers and radiology technicians – are specifically trained to handle complex and life-threatening injuries. Additionally, trauma surgeons must be in the hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For nearly 30 years, SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital has been a designated Level 1 Trauma Center for Missouri and Illinois, and remains just as dedicated today in providing the highest quality care for traumatically injured patients. In 2008, the hospital received the highest national recognition when it was verified as an American College of Surgeons (ACS) Level 1 Trauma Center.

Caring for the critically-injured is the quintessential example of multidisciplinary medical care. SLU Hospital’s trauma program is a multidisciplinary academic endeavor with Saint Louis University School of Medicine and SLUCare.  The program is committed to treating trauma patients and improving patient outcomes by providing integrated, specialized care and clinical research.

At SLU Hospital, patients are cared for by a team of board-certified trauma surgeons and emergency medicine physicians, as well as emergency department and critical care nurses, who are extensively trained to care for the most critically injured patients. The trauma team also works very closely with orthopedic trauma surgeons, neurosurgeons, facial trauma, plastic, urology, vascular, and spine surgeons. As the leader of the trauma team, a trauma surgeon, who is specially-trained to perform complex surgical procedures on all areas of the body, oversees the patient’s overall care to ensure an optimal outcome.

In addition to saving lives, SLU Hospital’s trauma program also trains tomorrow’s healthcare leaders - including medical students, residents, fellows, nurses and other healthcare providers - in quality trauma care by offering educational experiences and injury prevention programs.

SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital's stroke intervention team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This means we have the staff and resources available to save more lives by performing neuro interventions within the critical time-frame of stroke onset.

Our stroke neurologists and stroke team respond to stroke calls and arrive within 10 minutes. The average response time of the stroke team is under ten minutes, and the door-to-needle median time is 35 minutes.

Stroke patients at Saint Louis University Hospital benefit from the latest in imaging technology, including a 128-slice CT scanner and 3.0T MRI. This state-of-the-art imaging equipment produces the most detailed imagery, making it possible for physicians to quickly identify even the smallest blockage.

SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital's Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has dedicated neuro ICU to accommodate the sickest stroke patients. The staff provides stroke and neuro-critical care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and coordinates post-hospital care for all stroke patients.

SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital also participates in patient-centered research with Saint Louis University Medical School. Current research protocols include specialized clot retraction, endovascular aneurysm coiling, and intracranial stent application.

Level 1 STEMI certified hospitals have the proficiency to take care of the sickest of the sick and must meet the following criteria:

• Advanced medical care available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• A door-to-balloon time of under 90 minutes 75 percent of the time.
• Onsite services including cardiothoracic surgery, cardiopulmonary rehab, and a cardiac cath lab.

Cardiogenic shock is a devastating complication that affects nearly 10 percent of heart attack patients. In these patients, the pump function of the heart is severely compromised to a point that there is a critically low blood pressure and vital organs, such as the kidneys and brain, are deprived of sufficient oxygen and blood supply, leading to patient death.

A nationwide effort known as the National Cardiogenic Shock Initiative is currently working to lower the high mortality rate - which currently stands at more than 50 percent - associated with this life-threatening complication. SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital is the only hospital in the region to join this initiative. To find out more about the National Cardiogenic Shock Initiative, read our patient success stories in "Emergency Perspectives".