MIAMI (WSVN) - A group of medical staff race against time to save lives in one of the most stressful work environments. 7News went behind the hospital divider curtains at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Trauma Center.
Whether it’s a shooting, a car crash, shark bite or a freak accident, news cameras spot what’s happening outside Ryder Trauma Center, but inside is a different story. “Every trauma center says it: It’s organized chaos,” said a staff member.
We don’t typically see the trauma crews working through that chaos to save lives. They set up and suit up quickly. Time of day often dictates what comes through the doors, or off an air rescue chopper.
Ryder’s Burn Center is the only facility like it in the state. It’s also a Level 1 trauma center, which takes the patient from healing the injury all the way to rehab. “We provide a service to the residents of Miami-Dade County, to be here as a Level 1 trauma center,” said resuscitation nurse Luis De Rosa. “If that bus turns over, if people are standing at a corner store and get shot, we’re here ready to serve them.”
Dr. Tanya Zakrison, a trauma surgeon, said there’s often a delicate balancing act involved. “We see people at the worst,” she said. “Maybe they’ve lost their jobs, they’ve lost their houses, they’re really at the end of what they can tolerate for losses.”
Staff provide medical care while seeking out solutions that could possibly keep one person from finding themselves at Ryder Trauma or any similar facility. “I think it’s also my responsibility as a trauma surgeon to look upstream at the causes of the causes and say, ‘Why is this happening?’ Why is this happening in such a rich country, for example, that can provide for everyone?”
Everyone agreed that it takes special people to work in such a special place. “Everybody here has to have the same kind of passion for the work,” said one staff employee.
“There’s no trauma center like this in this country or on Earth, really,” Zakrison said.
“Whether they’re pediatric, a kid, whether an adult, whether they’re big, small it doesn’t matter,” De Rosa said. “You know, our main goal is to do damage control and save their life.”
Ryder Trauma Center had been the only adult trauma center in Miami-Dade County until 2011, but Kendall Regional Medical Center and Aventura Hospital now have verified programs. Broward General Medical Center, North Broward Medical Center and Memorial Regional Hospital serve those needs in Broward.
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