









































                                                                                                                         2021, Vol. 1 (2) 5 
 https://doi.org/10.47488/dhrp.v1i2.9 

  
 

http://dhrproceedings.org 5 © DHR Health Institute for Research and Development 
 

 

TRAUMA BULLETIN 

What Does a Level 1 Trauma Center 
Mean for The Valley? 
Megan Molina1 

1 Trauma Prevention and Outreach, DHR Trauma Services,  DHR Health, Edinburg, TX, USA 
 
E-mail: meg.molina@dhr-rgv.com 
 
Received 03/02/2021 
Accepted for publication 03/03/2021 
Published 03/05/2021 

Keywords:  Nursing; Trauma; Injury; Emergency; Community

As a new nurse, I didn’t understand what the different levels 
of trauma meant. I just knew that patient’s came into the 
emergency room (ER), and we did everything we could to take 
care of them: this was six years ago. As I grew as a nurse, so 
did my understanding of the trauma system. There were times 
that a patient had an injury that required a special service to 
see them, for example, an eye injury, and the specialist wasn’t 
available to see them, so the patient had to be transferred to 
another hospital, frequently outside the valley.  

After three years of working at a Level 3 Trauma Center I was 
accepted into a trauma nurse fellowship in San Antonio (SA) 
at a Level 1 Trauma Center. It wasn’t until I started working 
there that I fully understood what it meant to function as a 
level 1 trauma center. I learned that every patient who came 
through our doors would receive all the care they needed in 
one place. There would be no need to transfer to another 
facility or city. While working at this Level 1 facility, I also 
learned that we received a large amount of transfer patients 
from surrounding towns and cities.  

One transfer I remember clearly was an older man who had 
sustained an eye injury while working in his yard. He was 
flown in by helicopter from Edinburg, Texas. The patient 
expressed that he was worried about the flight’s cost, his wife 
driving the 4- hour drive alone at night, and where she would 
stay while he was in the hospital in SA. Although retired, he 
worked a few days a week at a local business, and he also 
voiced concern about missing days at work. Had this patients’ 
needs been met by his local hospital in the Rio Grande Valley, 
he would have forgone the extra expense of transfer and 
lodging for his wife. Furthermore, the emotional stress he 
suffered due to the worry he had for his wife’s travel and 
missed work could have been avoided.  

To me, a Level 1 Trauma Center in the Rio Grande Valley 
means that our community can receive all the care they need 
in one place, without having the extra financial and emotional 
burden that a transfer causes. Aside from this, a level 1 trauma 
center also brings many resources to community. Hands on 
training for emergency medical technicians (EMT’s), 
community education, injury prevention, and a higher level of 
care for our patients are opportunities that a Level 1 Trauma 
Center brings. Although it was a sacrifice leaving the Rio 
Grande Valley, my home, my family, and my friends the 
experience I gained and have now been able to bring back and 
apply for the benefit of my community makes it all worth it. 

Diclosures 

MM clinical qualifications: BSN, RN, TCRN.  She declares 
no conflicts of interest.  

References 

No references used in this document. 

  

 


