The University of Arizona Medical Center, a Level I trauma center in Tucson, Ariz., recently opened a new burn treatment room, according to a hospital press release.
The room is equipped with:
- A shower trolley that enables seriously injured patients to undergo wound cleaning and debridement while laying down. The trolley may go to bedside and be used to transport patients to the treatment room.
- A ceiling-mounted radiant heater to help critical injured patients maintain a stable body temperature. (Patients with large body surface tissue injuries have a difficult time staying warm due to burn injuries and inability to thermo-regulate.)
- Water temperature and pressure controls, water disinfectant systems, storage for specialized medical supplies and an in-room computer to enable patient charting.
The burn treatment room provides new capacity to treat burn patients in Southern Arizona. The area has not had an inpatient burn program since 2008. UAMC can now treat seriously injured patients so they may remain in the area for trauma burn care and follow-up treatment. Read Full Press Release
Burn injuries were added to the U.S. federal definition of trauma in August, when President Obama signed the Improving Trauma Care Act of 2014. The law expanded trauma to include “thermal, electrical, chemical, radioactive, and other extrinsic agents.”