HAP Resource Center

Fact Sheet: Facts About Pennsylvania's Trauma Centers

Pennsylvania's 49 trauma centers1 work around the clock to stabilize and treat critical injuries. Level I and II centers feature specially trained health care provider teams (e.g., trauma surgeons, neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, cardiac surgeons, radiologists and nurses) with expertise in caring for severely injured patients. Level III and IV centers stabilize trauma patients for transfer to higher-level centers. Their patients suffer from life-threatening injuries, often because of falls, motor vehicle crashes, burns, gunshot wounds or assaults.2

Combined Adult Level 1 /Pediatric Level I Trauma Centers

  1. Hershey – Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center/ Penn State Health Children’s Hospital

Combined Adult Level 1/Pediatric Level II Trauma Centers

  1. Allentown – Lehigh Valley Health Network – Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest/ Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital
  2. Danville – Geisinger Medical Center/ Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital

Adult Level I Trauma Centers

  1. Bethlehem – St. Luke’s University Health Network – St. Luke’s University Hospital Bethlehem
  2. Johnstown – Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center – Conemaugh Health System
  3. Lancaster – Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health – Lancaster General Hospital
  4. Philadelphia – Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia – Einstein Healthcare Network
  5. Philadelphia – Temple University Hospital – Temple Health
  6. Philadelphia – Thomas Jefferson University Hospital – Jefferson Health
  7. Philadelphia – Penn Medicine – Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
  8. Pittsburgh – Allegheny Health Network – Allegheny General Hospital
  9. Pittsburgh – University of Pittsburgh Medical Center – Mercy
  10. Pittsburgh – University of Pittsburgh Medical Center – Presbyterian
  11. West Reading – Reading Hospital – Tower Health
  12. York – WellSpan York Hospital – WellSpan Health

Pediatric Level I Trauma Centers

  1. Philadelphia – St. Christopher's Hospital for Children – Tower Health
  2. Philadelphia – The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
  3. Pittsburgh – University of Pittsburgh Medical Center – Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

Adult Level II Trauma Centers

  1. Abington – Abington Hospital – Jefferson Health
  2. Altoona – University of Pittsburgh Medical Center – Altoona
  3. Bethlehem – Lehigh Valley Health Network – Lehigh Valley Hospital – Muhlenberg
  4. Camp Hill – Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center
  5. Erie – University of Pittsburgh Medical Center – Hamot
  6. Easton – St. Luke’s University Health Network – St. Luke’s Hospital Anderson Campus
  7. Langhorne – St. Mary Medical Center – Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic
  8. Monroeville – Allegheny Health Network – Forbes Hospital
  9. Paoli – Paoli Hospital – Main Line Health
  10. Philadelphia – Jefferson Torresdale Hospital – Jefferson Health
  11. Sayre – Guthrie Robert Packer Hospital
  12. Scranton – Geisinger Community Medical Center
  13. Sellersville – Grand View Health – Grand View Hospital
  14. Upland – Crozer-Chester Medical Center – Crozer-Keystone Health System
  15. Wilkes-Barre – Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center
  16. Williamsport – University of Pittsburg Medical Center - Williamsport
  17. Wynnewood – Lankenau Medical Center – Main Line Health

Level III Trauma Centers

  1. East Stroudsburg – Lehigh Valley Health Network – Lehigh Valley Hospital Pocono

Level IV Trauma Centers

  1. Coaldale – St. Luke’s University Health Network – St. Luke’s Hospital Miners Campus
  2. Grove City – Allegheny Health Network – Grove City Hospital
  3. Hastings – Conemaugh Miners Medical Center
  4. Hazleton – Lehigh Valley Health Network – Lehigh Valley Hospital Hazleton
  5. Honesdale – Wayne Memorial Hospital
  6. Jersey Shore – Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital
  7. Lehighton - St. Luke’s University Health Network – St. Luke’s Hospital Lehighton Campus
  8. Lewistown – Geisinger Lewistown Hospital
  9. McConnellsburg – Fulton County Medical Center
  10. Orwigsburg – Geisinger St. Luke’s Hospital
  11. Quakertown – St. Luke’s University Health Network – St. Luke’s Hospital Upper Bucks Campus
  12. Stroudsburg – St. Luke’s University Health Network – St. Luke’s Hospital Monroe Campus
  13. Troy – Guthrie Troy Community Hospital

 

Trauma Center Statistics Tell a Story of Success

  • Between 1985 and 2020, 967,581 patients have been treated in Pennsylvania trauma centers, with a statewide average of more than 40,000 trauma patients treated each year since 20063
  • During 2019, more than 96 percent of Pennsylvania’s trauma patients survived their hospitalization. In total that year, the commonwealth’s accredited trauma centers saved 49,564 lives4
  • A national study shows that poor access to trauma centers is associated with more pre-hospital deaths, which may lead to higher overall injury mortality rates. The study revealed that the current trauma center infrastructure of Pennsylvania allowed the commonwealth to perform better than the national average on the ratio of pre-hospital to in-hospital death, despite having a higher rural population rate than an average state5

Financial Perspective on Trauma Care

  • During 2019, 30 percent of all Pennsylvania trauma centers cases were covered by Medicaid or were self-pay as a primary or secondary payor; 71 percent were covered by Medicare and/or Medicaid as a primary or secondary payor6
  • Trauma centers have higher levels of uncompensated care than other hospitals—during 2017, they contributed 56.2 percent of all hospital uncompensated care costs7
  • A national study found the benefits of trauma center care—as measured by lives saved, improved quality of life, and years gained—outweigh the costs, particularly for the most severely injured patients.8 Care at a trauma center is associated with lower mortality rates, decreased readmission rates—even when controlling for severity of injury and, research suggests, improved long-term outcomes9

Quality Improvement Efforts

  • Under state law, the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation (PTSF) is the accrediting body and develops standards based on the American College of Surgeons guidelines for trauma centers to assure quality patient care for trauma patients. The foundation also surveys trauma centers, assures regulatory compliance by accredited trauma centers, and promotes optimal outcomes for all trauma patients in Pennsylvania
  • The Pennsylvania Trauma Outcomes Study, a registry to which all centers must contribute data to maintain certification, is paving the way for quality improvement in the commonwealth’s trauma centers by implementing benchmarking methodology enabling risk-adjusted models for statewide trauma systems10
  • Growth of Level IV trauma centers: Level IV trauma centers provide initial care and stabilization of traumatic injury while arranging transfer to a higher level of trauma care. The PTSF accredited Pennsylvania’s first Level IV trauma center during 2013.11 By December 2020, nine Level IV trauma centers were operating in the commonwealth12
  • During 2004, the state passed the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Stabilization Act to provide financial support to hospitals designated as trauma centers by the PTSF. The funding helps improve access to specialty services and enhance the quality of care by providing training programs, community education, facility improvements13

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1 Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation (PTSF), Press Release – Trauma Center Accreditation Granted to Four Additional Hospitals in Pennsylvania. Issued 09/20/2021. Last Accessed: 10/6/2021.
2 Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation (PTSF), What is a Trauma Center? Last accessed 02/24/2021.
3 Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation (PTSF), Enhancing the Commonwealth’s Trauma System: 2019 Annual Report. Last accessed: 02/24/2021.
4 Ibid.
5 Hashmi ZG, Jarman MP, Uribe-Leitz T, Goralnick E, Newgard CD, Salim A, Cornwell E 3rd, Haider AH. Access Delayed Is Access Denied: Relationship Between Access to Trauma Center Care and Pre-Hospital Death. J Am Coll Surg. 2019 Jan;228(1):9-20. Last accessed: 03/04/2021.
6 Based on HAP’s July 2021 analysis of 2019 Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) Inpatient Discharge Claims Data.
7 Ibid.
8 MacKenzie, EJ.; Weir, et al. The Value of Trauma Center Care. Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection & Critical Care. 69(1):1-10, July 2010. Last accessed 3/11/2019.
9 Staudenmayer K, Weiser TG, Maggio PM, Spain DA, Hsia RY. Trauma center care is associated with reduced readmissions after injury. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. 2016; 80(3):412–418. Last accessed 3/13/2019.
10 Wiebe DJ, Holena DN, Delgado MK, McWilliams N, Altenburg J, Carr BG. The Pennsylvania Trauma Outcomes Study Risk-Adjusted Mortality Model: Results of a Statewide Benchmarking Program. Am Surg. 2017;83(5):445-452. Last accessed 3/13/2019.
11 PRNewswire.com, First Level IV Trauma Center to be Accredited in Pennsylvania November 1, 2013. Source of the news: PTSF. Last accessed: 02/24/2021.
12 Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation (PTSF), Press Release – Trauma Center Accreditation Status Change for Two Hospitals. Issued 12/14/2020. Last Accessed: 7/9/2021.
13 Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS). Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Stabilization Act, Annual Report Fiscal Year 2019–2020. July 2021. Last accessed 10/6/2021.

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Topics: Access to Care, Emergency Preparedness, State Advocacy

Revision Date: 11/22/2021

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