Whittier : Hospital Given Designation as Trauma Center

Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital here has been designated as a trauma center for critical care patients by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

Operators of the Whittier hospital received the designation this month. Although the hospital does not receive any money or additional support from the county for the designation, it becomes part of the countywide network of trauma centers. The aim of the program is to have a trauma center within 20 minutes of every county resident.

The new center will serve Downey, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, Norwalk, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs and Whittier and parts of Artesia, Bellflower, Bell Gardens, Cerritos, Commerce, Hacienda Heights and Montebello.

Trauma nurse coordinator Paula Woo said the new facility will allow treatment of about 500 trauma victims a year.

Trauma patients are those with major blood loss or shock, severe breathing difficulties, circulatory or heart problems or deep wounds that require immediate surgery.

Until the Whittier hospital was added to the network, the closest trauma centers to southeast Los Angeles County were Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina, Martin Luther King Jr. General Hospital in South-Central Los Angeles and Memorial Medical Center of Long Beach.