Sanford Health Fargo Verified a Level I Adult Trauma Center

Sanford Medical Center Fargo has cleared the final hurdle to be verified a Level I Adult Trauma Center. This verification is awarded by the American College of Surgeons. Level I is the highest level of trauma care and recognizes Sanford's dedication to raising its level of services for injured patients.

This achievement makes Fargo the only city with a Level I Adult Trauma Center between Minneapolis, Seattle, Denver and Omaha. It acknowledges that the trauma center is capable of providing total care for every aspect of injury – from prevention through rehabilitation. A Level I trauma center provides the highest level of surgical care to trauma patients. It has a full range of specialists and equipment available 24 hours a day and must admit at least 1,200 trauma patients a year. In 2017, the trauma center admitted more than 1,500 patients that met the established criteria. Historically, it has been the region’s busiest emergency center.

“This verification has been years in the making as we aimed to offer the next phase of care for our region. We invested millions of dollars by adding medical specialties not previously offered in this area, built a new emergency center to best serve injured patients and put an emphasis on research and technology,” said Nate White, Sanford Fargo president. “Patients can stay in their hometown hospitals until they need care that’s not available locally, and when that happens they can come to Fargo versus Minneapolis or Denver. It’s a huge step forward in keeping families close to home.”