What to know about Mount Nittany Medical Center’s Level IV trauma center designation

Mount Nittany Medical Center received Level IV trauma center accreditation in early January after more than two years of preparation. The designation allows the hospital to more rapidly diagnose, stabilize and transfer trauma patients to higher-level facilities.

FULL STORY: Mount Nittany Medical Center is now a Level IV trauma center. Here’s what it means

Here are six key takeaways:

• Mount Nittany was awarded Level IV accreditation by the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation. The designation is the lowest of four levels and focuses on initial care, stabilization and transfer to higher-level centers.
• Dr. Matthew Davidson, a physician in general surgery, said the accreditation means trauma care will operate “like a fine-tuned machine,” with advanced trauma life support staff available 24/7 and strict PTSF protocols guiding response times.
• Before the designation, State College was farther from an accredited trauma center than any incorporated Pennsylvania place of larger population, and Penn State was farther from a trauma center than any other Big Ten school.
• Davidson said Mount Nittany is an outlier among Level IV centers, handling a couple hundred traumas a month rather than a couple hundred a year — volumes typically seen at Level I centers.
• The closest Level II trauma center is now Penn Highlands DuBois, about 65 miles away. UPMC Altoona was dropped from Level II to Level III in August 2024.
• Commissioner Mark Higgins said in a written statement that the county commissioners are “very supportive” of Mount Nittany, and he called the new trauma capabilities “a very valuable service” as more people move to the area.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.