Winneshiek Medical Center will conduct a pilot program for ER record-keeping

(Left to right): WMC Emergency Department nurses Karla Lechtenberg, Carrie Riley and John Kelly, RN, Emergency Department Nursing Supervisor

Winneshiek Medical Center has been selected as one of 13 hospitals across Iowa to do a pilot study of the new Iowa Department of Human Services' statewide EMS and trauma records system.  WMC will also serve as the training site for regional hospitals as they prepare to engage in the new program.

The new system will allow Iowa hospitals of all sizes to coordinate care for patients involved in trauma.  The digital registry system will collect and analyze information on the incident, severity, causes and outcomes of trauma, burn and more, to evaluate factors and the health system's response from the ambulance on the scene to the hospital emergency room and post-discharge care.

"Because we are able to track the patient's information from the scene to the medical facility we are able prepare space and treatment for the trauma," says WMC Emergency Department Supervisor John Kelly. "Because the program eliminates redundancies, we save valuable time in providing the best care for our patients."

Winneshiek Medical Center will serve as the education site for regional hospitals in June. "As a pilot location, we helped to develop criteria for Level IV facilities and streamlined the criteria to provide benchmarks for certification," says pilot program co-coordinator Carrie Riley.