Intermountain Health Good Samaritan Hospital Recertification as Level II Trauma Center

For critically injured patients struggling to survive after an accident, the difference between life and death can often be the care they receive at their local hospital trauma center.

After a vigorous review, the American College of Surgeons has provided an additional level of reassurance to patients who receive care at Intermountain Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette.

The ACS verifies compliance with specific standards and has recertified Intermountain Good Samaritan as a Level II Trauma Center.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which oversees trauma programs in the state, has designated the hospital as a Level II Trauma Center.

A Level II Trauma Center is one of the highest designations for trauma care. It means the hospital can provide comprehensive care for nearly all major traumatic injuries and has 24/7 coverage by surgeons, specialists, and other members of the highly trained trauma team.

“Level I and II Trauma Centers have the resources and can take care of the most critically injured patients,” said Edward Pyun, MD, trauma medical director for the Intermountain Good Samaritan Trauma Program.

He noted that not every hospital has the community or resources to support a higher-level trauma center which makes it important for programs like Good Samaritan’s to work with smaller hospitals, share best practices and coordinate to cover all the needs of trauma patients.

Dr. Pyun said the key to the program is a team approach.

“Our emergency department, anesthesiology team, radiology department, surgical team, ICU, and operating room work together to provide the streamlined and efficient care that trauma patients need,” Dr. Pyun said. “It is a great team of which the trauma surgery team is just one part. We could not do what we do without them.”

Located in south Lafayette near the intersection of U.S. 287, Northwest Parkway and Dillon Road, Intermountain Good Samaritan saw more than 35,000 emergency department visits in 2024 and admitted more than 1,100 trauma patients.

The most common reasons for a patient visit involving a traumatic injury were falls, car crashes and motorcycle crashes.

Trauma programs must reverify every three years to maintain their verification from the ACS. Intermountain Good Samaritan was first designated by the state as a trauma center in 2006, verified as a Level II Trauma Center in 2013 and has completed a thorough evaluation every three years to be reverified.

“Being ACS verified means that Intermountain Good Samaritan has the training, personnel and equipment to take care of severely injured patients,” said Stephanie Vega, director of trauma services at the hospital.

Requirements for a Level II Trauma Center also include:

• 24/7 available surgical expertise in areas such as general surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery, and interventional radiology
• 24/7 availability of services including anesthesiology, medical imaging, emergency medicine and critical care
• A team of experts dedicated to leading the care of complex trauma patients
• A program for quality improvement to track cases and review outcomes
• Community outreach programs to provide education on trauma-related issues.

The Intermountain Good Samaritan Hospital Trauma Program also provides injury prevention education related to trauma awareness with class topics that teach about fall prevention, safe driving, Stop the Bleed, and Wilderness First Aid.

For more information visit Intermountain Health Good Samaritan Hospital.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a not-for-profit system of 34 hospitals, approximately 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For up-to-date information and announcements, please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.