Fall 2018 Edition

“I liked hearing from the docs. They’re on the cutting edge for trauma,” says Washington County EMS paramedic Mark Rosenbaum, reflecting on his participation in the recent Memorial Hermann Ortho Trauma Symposium, held July 28, 2018, at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. Rosenbaum and two fellow Washington County EMS paramedics were among the 160 first responders, emergency personnel and nurses attending the event, which brought together fellowship-trained orthopedic traumatologists to highlight best practices in treating the polytraumatized patient.

It’s one thing to think you’re the best. It’s another to be told that by an objective, credible third party. While Memorial Hermann has a reputation for providing trauma care, the hospital puts itself through the rigors of multiple outside verification and accreditation processes to validate the quality of its programs and care, and to seek ways to continuously improve. The American Burn Association (ABA), in conjunction with the American College of Surgeons (ACS), offers a program to verify that a burn center is meeting the highest current standards of care for the burn-injured patient.

Cheryl Fleming doesn’t mince words. Not surprising, given the nature of her work. Fleming is the Director of the Memorial Hermann Transfer Center, the system body that coordinates all patient transfers to and within the Memorial Hermann Health System. Each month, her team handles an average of 3,200 calls from physicians, emergency centers and hospitals. 80% of those patients will be transferred to a Memorial Hermann facility. While Fleming has worked for Memorial Hermann in various capacities since 1984, it was in 2011 that she was given her greatest challenge: create a system-wide transfer center for Memorial Hermann which at the time had 10 acute care facilities.