The goal of the Emergency Department at Memorial Hospital is to ensure that quality, comprehensive trauma and medical care is provided to residents and visitors of Gaines County. We coordinate with our local EMS and with Covenant AeroCare air ambulance services to provide transport to tertiary care facilities when needed.
Level IV Trauma Center
The Emergency Department of Memorial Hospital is designated as a Level IV Trauma Center by the Texas Department of Health, Bureau of Emergency Management. This designation requires our facility to maintain specific equipment and our staff to maintain specific skills, thus ensuring quality care when it is needed most. In further pursuit of quality trauma care, Memorial Hospital has an organized "Trauma Team" composed of staff members of different departments who lend their expertise in a trauma situation. This provides quality care in an organized, systematic manner by coordinating the efforts of a multi-discipline team.
Disaster Preparedness
Memorial Hospital has always had a plan for dealing with a natural or man-made disaster. In early 2006, many hospital employees, including clinical staff and administrative staff completed training and certification in the Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HEICS) and the National Incident Management System training (NIMS). The HEICS and NIMS systems are used nationwide to provide a consistent action plan for all agencies, local state and federal, that maybe involved in the event of a disaster.
Bio-Terrorism Preparedness
In addition to the trauma and disaster services, Memorial Hospital also maintains the equipment and staff education needed in the event of a bio-terrorism incident. As members of the Regional Bio-terrorism Advisory Committee (RAC), we stay informed on the latest in bio-terrorism preparedness. In addition, we coordinate with other hospitals in the region through training and bio-terrorism/disaster drills to ensure that we are prepared in the event of such a tragedy.
