by KYW's Lynne Adkins
Paoli Hospital is filing a letter of intent to become a "level 2" trauma center.
Paoli Hospital president Barbara Tachovsky notes that Chester County is the fastest growing county in Pennsylvania yet it has no trauma center.
To qualify for the designation, she says, the hospital needs a state-of-the-art emergency and surgical suite, which will open this July. She says that personnel will also need to be trained and ready to work:
"You have to operating staff in house. You have to have trauma surgeons in house 24-7, you have to have orthopedic surgeons available on call immediately, you have to have neurosurgeons. And your other staff has to be ready as well."
She admits it will be expensive to provide the extra care around the clock, but says the service is needed. The process will take at least two years.
(File photo)
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