SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) -
LSU Health is the only level 1 trauma center in the region, which means the most serious injury cases from all over the Ark-La-Tex and beyond come here.
The doctors in the Emergency Room at LSU Health never know what to expect when they come to work.
"That's why I'm running around so much. A patient over here that's getting worse and we don't know why, and I have another patient in the front that's very very sick," said Dr. Tom Swoboda in the middle of his shift.
Less serious cases stay in the waiting room where nurses decide which patients need to be seen first. The most serious cases, trauma stats, go straight into the code rooms.
On the night the E. R. staff allowed KSLA News 12 to follow the doctors and nurses, the staff had a lot of serious cases.
Just after 8 p.m. a helicopter brought in a young girl who was hurt in an ATV accident. There were other kids involved in the rollover accident, but the girl brought by helicopter's injuries were the most serious.
From where the accident happened it would take almost an hour by ambulance to drive to the hospital, so emergency services called in Life Air. They got the girl from the accident scene to the E. R. in about 20 minutes.
"Our goal is the golden hour of trauma, so we want to get them here as quickly as possible in the best care, in the best shape as possible," said flight nurse, Caryn Courtney.
The staff first gets her stable, runs tests, and sends her on to the pediatric intensive care unit.
Before the end of the night, the medical team treats several more people hurt in ATV accidents including one other major trauma. An adult seriously injured his face.
"ATV accidents can be horrible. People don't realize. I think a lot of times they think that they're safer than 2 wheel vehicles, but many times that's not the case. Those 4 wheel vehicles are extremely heavy. If that thing falls on you, it's bad news," said Dr. Thomas Arnold.
The doctors say, many ATV accidents could be avoided if people would wear helmets, seat belts, and take other safety precautions.
Around 1 a.m. on the same night 2 traumas arrived within 5 minutes of each other, so the doctors and nurses split into teams.
First, a 5-year-old boy arrived by helicopter. He was in a car accident about 150 miles South of Shreveport. When the doctors there saw his critical head injuries, they knew he needed care they couldn't provide and sent him to the specialists at the LSU Health trauma center.
While they were still caring for the boy, an ambulance brought in a stabbing victim. about a dozen medical personnel gathered in each room. The situations are tense and unpredictable, but everyone knows their job in treating the injured.
In the midst of all this other patients come in an out with broken bones, asthma attacks, or other illnesses. Most are treated and released. However, 2 patients from this night stayed in the ICU for more than a week. The young girl in the ATV accident died the next day.
"We're a level 1 trauma center, and not everyone who makes it here survives," said Arnold.
About 55,000 patients come to the LSU Health E. R. each year. About 1,500 of those will be serious traumas. So even after a tragedy, they medical staff has to get back to work because they still never know what will come through those doors next.
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Several doctors and nurses work on one patient during a trauma stat.
Life air brings a patient to the Level 1 Trauma Center
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