Kauai has first-class trauma center
Kauai has first-class trauma center
As a retired trauma surgeon at Wilcox I thought I should add to your article about the horrible crash recently on Maluhia Road.
I was in the hospital for a meeting when the five victims came in on Friday night. I went down to the ER to see if I could help and I was overwhelmed by the response of the ER physicians, nurses and OR staff. While normally only one of the four trauma surgeons is on call, three of them were there working. Also, three anesthesiologists and two orthopedic surgeons.
It always bothers me when it says that the patients were flown to Queen’s trauma center without mentioning what was done at our own Wilcox Trauma Center to stabilize them before they are able to tolerate the hour and a half trip to Honolulu. Massive blood transfusions, chest tubes, breathing machines, and even major abdominal surgery (as one of these patients had) are frequently necessary.
Kauai is very fortunate to have the level of commitment needed to have a first-class trauma center, and everyone from nurses to doctors to administration should get credit for that.
Christopher Jordan MD, Retired Wilcox Medical Center trauma surgeon
mAhalo Doc for your EXcellent overview coverage of Wilcox Hospital staff labores of love for their professions within. I was a many hat wearing medical professional at Wilcox Hospital, retired, including the first ambulance crew, before we became inundated by huge amounts of tourists that basically have ruined the ambiance of our aina due to their NOT paying attention, feeling like they invincible while visiting, or a myriad of other accidental maneuvers as well as an increase in people vehicles not from here that we can guarantee will continue. BIG Money is always at the forefront when it comes to how this islands’ politicoMilitary gooberment continues to cause us to die because of their strategies. We Pule for those that have been in these horrific circumstances. Do not blame us for what has been ongoingly HEWA for 126-years!
Debra,
I think I can speak for a lot of the readers when I say we’re so tired of trying to understand an make sense of your responses to articles. What’s up with the random capitalization of letters? Try reading what you write before hitting “submit”. Just saying………….
You should reread your posts before pressing submit, cuz you have no clue. Youre also not from here, so you cannot possibly understand the depth or breadth of the ongoing purps who always want to change or demean those of us with a lifetime of Kauai memories without the “entitled” u.s. clowns, like yourself, that think they going be able to stay here indefinitely. WE Coming to take you away hohohehehaha to the funny farm, Alcatraz on a FEMA barge! Got it? FB my name, we can have a real discussion instead of your hiding behind a fake name, like the fake state! Maybe Conklin would join us. Truth and Integrity is not found on your or other TGI pages and contributors!
Congratulations to hard-working doctors who do the best they can with the limited trauma facilities available on Kaua’i.
Perhaps we should acknowledge that Wilcox is not a third-class trauma center — maybe it’s all the way up to second-class. But get real. There must be a good reason why some badly injured people are air-lifted to Honolulu. The reason is that there aren’t any first-class trauma centers on Kaua’i.
I live in Kane’ohe, and often spend time in nearby Kailua. Castle Hospital, now rebranded as Adventist Health – Castle, has an emergency room. But when there’s a terrible accident in Kane’ohe or Kailua, the news media report that the victims were taken to Queens in Honolulu — some ambulances drive right past Castle to take Kailua car-wreck victims to Queens. Makes us feel shame, and fear for our lives. That’s the way things are, and it behooves us to keep it in mind.
It’s time to update the Air Ambulance Plane. “Hour and a half to get from Lihue to Oahu!”