Columbus, OH,
07
August
2017
|
14:00 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

ABC6: Treating crush injuries

Following the horrific accident at the Ohio State Fair on the Fire Ball ride in July, ABC6 reporter Lu Ann Stoia was curious how patients in similar types accidents are treated. She spoke with Chance Spalding, DO, a trauma surgeon at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center about a specific type of trauma.

“We categorize these things as crush injuries, when a building or a ride or a large object falls on someone,” Dr. Spalding told ABC6. “It’s not just a cut, but a combination of a fracture injury that happens with bones being broken, as well as the weight of the equipment and the muscle injuries, the soft tissue, the blood vessels, everything. So it can escalate the patient’s damage.”

When a patient arrives at the emergency department, the trauma team performs a thorough exam of the patient’s injuries to determine the care needed. After immediate needs are met in the emergency department and operating room, the patient is admitted to the appropriate hospital unit for care. Depending on the severity of injuries, a patient will be admitted to one of these care units:

  • Critical Care Unit: For patients with severe injuries.

  • Trauma Intermediate Care Unit: For patients with less severe injuries but who need close observation.

  • Acute Care Unit: For patients with less severe injuries and who are stable.

During their stay in the hospital, patients will be visited by their care team daily. Additionally, the trauma team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for questions or concerns.

Once released from the hospital, all trauma patients receive follow up care at Grant’s trauma outpatient clinic. The clinic, which is open five days per week, provides follow-up visits and outpatient services for Grant's complex trauma patients. It includes:

  • Concussion follow up with speech therapists
  • Screening for PTSD
  • Coordination of follow up care with specialty consultants and Recovery Support Services

For more information on the outpatient trauma clinic, please call (614) 566.8765.

Grant Medical Center, a Level I trauma program, is the busiest trauma center in the state. To learn more about the trauma program at Grant, click here.