Traumatic Injuries

If you or your loved one is injured in a traumatic accident, your emergency team may ask you to choose your hospital. Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network is your wisest choice. We are Pennsylvania’s first Level 1 trauma center, the highest designation a hospital can achieve. We also are the region’s only center accredited to care for children and the only one that specializes in care for older adults.

If you’re involved in an emergency situation, you might experience feelings of shock, isolation, mistrust and anger. Questions like “Why did this happen?” and “How can I cope with this?” may have no clear answers. We help you by focusing not just on your loved one’s physical needs, but on the emotional, psychological and spiritual needs of you and your family.

As part of our commitment to helping you, your loved one and your family, we will provide regular updates on the condition, treatment plan and care for your loved one. We will treat you and your family with respect, patience and compassion while you’re in the hospital.

The first few hours

If there has been a traumatic accident, a patient often is transported directly to the emergency department. There, the trauma team evaluates how serious a patient’s injuries are and makes decisions about what kind of care is needed. Depending on the patient’s condition, he may need care in the operating room or in a part of the hospital designed for trauma patients, such as the trauma-neuro intensive care unit or transitional trauma unit.

When you arrive at the hospital, a chaplain from pastoral care will meet you. He and a member of our trauma team will provide you information about your loved one until a physician is able to speak with you personally. Chaplains provide emotional and spiritual support any time, day or night, while your loved one is in the hospital. All care is provided to meet your family’s cultural, religious and social needs.

These first hours are very important for your loved one. You may be asked to share vital medical and background information to assist our trauma team in providing the best possible care. You also may choose to designate one person in your family to be the family spokesperson. This may be a spouse, parent or legal next-of-kin. We will give updated health care information to the spokesperson and refer other family members or friends to him.

Please ask us questions. The trauma team is there to help you and your loved one. Team members will do their best to answer all of your questions.

Your privacy is protected. To ensure privacy for you and your loved one, we follow a medical privacy act called HIPAA.

We look out for you. You are a valuable member of your loved one’s health care team. The support you provide is an important part of the healing process and is appreciated by your loved one and his caregivers. To provide the best support, you need to take care of yourself, too. Shorter visits, adequate rest and proper nutrition are just as important for you as your loved one.

The road to recovery

Your loved one’s road to recovery and length of time it will take is unpredictable, because each person recovers from trauma differently. The steps below show a “typical” road to recovery, but it is important to understand recovery times and steps may change depending on your loved one’s condition.

Trauma-Neuro Intensive Care Unit (TNICU)

This is where your loved one may first receive intensive care. The trauma team will monitor him at all times. You may feel overwhelmed by the amount of care, equipment and procedures your loved one will experience, but it is necessary to provide the best trauma care. We encourage you to be an active member of the team by providing emotional support to your loved one—talking to him and holding his hand.

Visiting TNICU

When you arrive on the unit, you will check in with a critical care ambassador. She will provide you information to assist you during your loved one’s stay. She will also check to make sure your loved one is ready to receive visitors. Because the level of TNICU care is so intensive, there are special visiting guidelines.

• Scheduled family visiting hours are 11 a.m.-2 p.m., 3-6:30 p.m. and 8:30-9:30 p.m.
• Talk to your care team about special visiting hours or needs, and the best way to arrange visits from children under 12 and close friends.
• Do not bring food or beverages into your loved one’s room.
• Please do not send flowers while your loved one is in TNICU.

You may notice cameras in your loved one’s hospital room. They are linked to an off-site location where we maintain an Advanced Intensive Care Unit (aICU). It is staffed by specially educated critical care physicians and nurses who provide an extra layer of care in addition to bedside care during overnight hours. Your loved one’s blood pressure, heart rate and other vital signs are monitored continuously so our trauma nurses and physicians are alerted immediately of any changes in your loved one’s health.

Transitional Trauma Unit (TTU)

When your loved one’s condition improves, he may move to this unit. The trauma team will thoroughly evaluate your loved one’s progress before making this transfer. This is most often considered a positive step in a patient’s recovery.

Your loved one’s health condition will continue to be monitored regularly on TTU. But because the level of care is less intensive than on TNICU, you may see your nurse less often. If you have any questions, you can always communicate with your nurse by ringing the call bell.

In certain situations, your loved one might be well enough to leave TNICU but not quite strong enough for regular TTU care. If that happens, your loved one will receive care in a 24-hour “observation room” located on TTU. This way, he can continue to receive 24-hour monitoring for his care.

On TTU, your loved one will be able to participate in his own care as he begins recovering. You can help by providing encouragement and working with him while he walks, eats or performs exercises. Case managers will work with you to plan the next stage of recovery.

Leaving the hospital

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