CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In the wake of Monday's deadly tragedy, WCNC Charlotte learned that the officers who were wounded were taken to Atrium Health's Carolinas Medical Center for treatment. The Carolinas Medical Center campus is listed as a Level I trauma care center that serves the Charlotte area. But what exactly is a Level I trauma center? How are levels designated? And how do the levels compare to each other?
To answer those questions, we first need to understand what exactly trauma is, more specifically what a traumatic injury is. University of Florida Health defines a traumatic injury as a physical injury that happens suddenly and requires immediate medical attention. Such injuries can happen in car crashes, sports injuries, falls, natural disasters and other settings that can take place just about anywhere.
A person who faces a traumatic injury would then need to be taken to a nearby hospital's emergency department for treatment. In North Carolina, trauma centers are broken down into three categories: Level I, Level II, and Level III.
The North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings (NC OAH) defines each category as outlined in current state law.
A hospital listed as a Level I trauma center can provide guidance, research, and total care for every aspect of the injury, from prevention to rehabilitation. Level II trauma centers do still provide trauma care regardless of how severe an injury is, but they may not have the comprehensive care that a Level I center does. Further, Level II trauma centers don't focus on trauma research as a key objective.
Hospitals designated as Level III centers often operate as the first response in many traumatic injury cases. They do provide assessment, resuscitation, emergency operations, and stabilization for patients. However, these centers also arrange for patients to be taken to nearby Level I or II trauma centers as needed.
The North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services (NC OEMS) has a map and list of all 17 trauma centers across the Tar Heel State. There are six Level I trauma centers in North Carolina, four Level II centers, and seven Level III centers. They're also organized in regions, which allows different centers to coordinate with each other.
Atrium's Carolinas Medical Center is the Charlotte region's Level I trauma center, while Novant Health Presbyterian is the sole Level II center in the metro area. Atrium Health Cabarrus in Concord, Atrium Health Cleveland in Shelby, and CaroMont Regional Medical Center in Gastonia are the Level III trauma centers in the Charlotte area.