The Mary Washington Hospital Trauma Center was established in 2008 in order to provide the highest standard of trauma care possible. Mary Washington Hospital is an Adult Trauma Center, designated by the Commonwealth of Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services. The hospital serves as a vital member of the Virginia Trauma System. As a designated Trauma Center, injured patients in our region have rapid access to Trauma care. Additionally, the Trauma Center serves as a regional and national resource for disaster and mass casualty care. The 5 Board Certified Trauma Surgeons in the practice all have specialized training in the management of patients during mass casualty and disaster situations. The EMS system (both ground ambulances and helicopter aeromedical services) responds initially to injured patients, provide field stabilization, and then transport the patients to the Trauma Center. Care is rendered by many doctors, nurses and technologists. Physicians include those specialized in Trauma Orthopedics, Trauma Neurosurgery and other surgical subspecialties. Care is provided in various places, such as the Emergency Department, the Intensive Care Unit and the Operating Room.  Advanced capabilities in these areas as well as Radiology, the Laboratory and Blood Bank, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PT) are available. The goal of the Trauma Center is to prevent death or disability, with a goal that the patients have the best functional outcome after injury. Most patients return home and return to work or school. A small subset of patients requiring highly specialized trauma treatments are transferred to other centers. An example of such a specialized treatment is a complex burn which is sent to specialized burn treatment centers.

Mary Washington Hospital has a helipad for receiving patients that have been airlifted to our facility.  In many cases, persons injured in remote areas and transported to a trauma center by helicopter can receive faster and better medical care than if they had been transported by ambulance to a closer hospital which is not a designated trauma center.