Saluting Delaware’s first responders and hospitals

|||| — |||From left: Marilynn K. Bartley of Christiana Care Health System; Edward Alexander III of Bayhealth Kent General Hospital; Steven D. Carey of Nanticoke Memorial Hospital; Deborah Eberly of Bayhealth Kent General Hospital; Linda Laskowski Jones of Christiana Care Health System; Mary Sue Jones

From left: Marilynn K. Bartley of Christiana Care Health System; Edward Alexander III of Bayhealth Kent General Hospital; Steven D. Carey of Nanticoke Memorial Hospital; Deborah Eberly of Bayhealth Kent General Hospital; Linda Laskowski Jones of Christiana Care Health System; Mary Sue Jones, State Trauma System Coordinator; Ross Megargel, State EMS Medical Director; Stephen G. Murphy of Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children; Glen H. Tinkoff of Christiana Care Health System.

When someone is seriously injured, seconds or moments can make the difference between life and death. To increase the chance of survival and reduce the chance of permanent disability, Delaware created an integrated, statewide trauma system 20 years ago that begins with a 911 call and does not end until after the patient receives high quality hospital care.

To celebrate the men and women of the trauma system, dozens of medical professionals and first responders filled the House of Representatives chambers at Legislative Hall on Tuesday, joined by state and local officials to mark the 20th anniversary of the Delaware Trauma System.

Delaware has one of the nation’s few inclusive statewide trauma systems in which every acute care hospital participates. The state’s trauma system is credited with saving 1,319 lives and caring for 101,000 seriously injured people since 2000; an almost 50 percent decrease in the mortality rate in that time. The Delaware mortality rate is now consistently lower than the national rate reported by the federal National Trauma Data Bank.