SITC Completes 5 Years Building Trauma Network for Central Illinois

Completing its fifth year of operation, the Southern Illinois Trauma Center (SITC) is treating an average of 1,000 injured patients each year, who come from Springfield and the 18-county service area. SITC, based at Memorial Medical Center since July 1, 2003, now moves July 1 to St. John's Hospital.

"We have built strong partners with EMS, regional hospitals and the community, providing trauma care at the highest level," says Dr. John P. Sutyak, SITC's medical director and associate professor at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. "Our trauma team and the regional system are organized to provide immediate and in-patient treatment as well as follow-up care after hospitalization, especially for patients with multiple injuries."

SITC is designated a Level I trauma center by the Illinois Department of Public Health and was reverified this spring by IDPH. A partnership of Memorial, St. John's and SIU, it began providing trauma care for west central and southern Illinois in July 1999. The Level I trauma center host site alternates annually between Memorial and St. John's every July 1.

The five-year total number of trauma cases handled by SITC is 5,137 (includes estimated cases for the last two weeks of June 2004). Most cases continue to be males (69%) and most are between the ages of 20 and 54 (59%). The most frequent mechanism of injury is a motor vehicle crash (48%), followed by falls (14%), stab or gun shot wounds (9%), and motorcycles (7%).

About one-quarter of the patients are originally evaluated at another institution before transfer to the SITC for care of complex injuries. The regional system has been developed with active participation from 15 hospitals, including the Level II centers in Quincy and Jacksonville. About 4,000 emergency medical services (EMS) personnel are part of the system, which covers 10,203 square miles. Protocols and standards are shared at quarterly regional trauma meetings.

While SITC is based at one of the Springfield hospitals, education and prevention programs are presented by all the three partners, allowing outreach into the service area. TheSIU faculty also provides several trauma training conferences and courses throughout the year.

The SITC team uses a combination of 11 SIU surgery faculty and local surgeons who provide primary trauma surgery call, including specialists in neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, oral surgery, otolaryngology and plastics. Sutyak became SITC medical director in April, succeeding Dr. John B. Fortune, who is relocating to Syracuse, N.Y., in late July. Dr. Christopher D. Wohltmann joined SIU as an assistant professor of surgery last summer and continues on the SITC team.

Sutyak also pointed out the critical role that the Central Illinois Community Blood Center plays in the SITC trauma program. "Replacing blood is a key aspect to treatment, especially for critical cases," he explains. "When we look at the past five years, the blood center's donations drop each summer just when our trauma activity level and the need for life saving blood products increase. I encourage everyone take time to donate blood to help make up the deficit."

Over the past year, the SITC provided care to 1,010 patients (includes estimated cases for the last two weeks of June 2004). Young adults and children (14 years and under) accounted for approximately 100 of the patients and about 160 were 55 years or older. Nearly half of the injuries resulted from motor vehicle crashes (48%). Falls followed as the next most common category (14%). Other categories include motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian incidents, stab and gunshot wounds, assaults and all terrain vehicle (ATV) crashes.

Trauma centers treat the most serious injuries from which a person may be at risk for loss of life or limb. After providing initial care, the trauma team continues its involvement with the patient in critical care areas and specialized services. Both Memorial and St. John's continue to operate emergency departments as part of the system with seriously, injured patients directed to the SITC Level I designated hospital. Pediatric trauma patients are taken to St. John's because of the pediatric intensive care facility. Burn patients are taken to the Regional Burn Center at Memorial.

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SITC Patient Profile
Richard Jerome, a 17-year-old student from Riverton, Ill., was involved in a single-car motor vehicle crash on July 6, 2003, in rural Mechanicsburg, Ill. He hit some loose gravel and lost control of his vehicle, which flipped four to five times and eventually landed on him. Jerome was taken to the Southern Illinois Trauma Center at Memorial Medical Center by personnel from Springfield Area Ambulance. He suffered a fractured pelvis with disruption of pelvic circle, fracture of the base of the skull, bilateral pneumohemothoraces, bladder injury, injury to iliac artery, injury to hypogastric vein, and injury to sigmoid colon. He received 51 units of packed red blood cells, 34 units of fresh frozen plasma and 6 units of platelets. Richard stayed at the hospital for one month and underwent five surgeries. Since the injury, he has returned to school and graduated from Riverton High School last May.