ECMC has the resources to handle surgical needs in emergencies, resulting in verification as a Level One trauma center by the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. William Flynn, Chief of Service, Department of Surgery and Director and Trauma Intensive Care Unit, discusses the services available fo those needing surgery at ECMC.
Selected Podcast
ECMC Surgical Services
Featuring:
Learn more about William Flynn, MD
William Flynn, MD
Dr. William Flynn is Chief of Service in the Department of Surgery at ECMC. In addition, he serves as director of the Trauma Intensive Care Unit, attending staff surgeon, and interim chair of the Department of Surgery at the State University of New York at Buffalo.Learn more about William Flynn, MD
Transcription:
Bill Klaproth (Host): Verified as a Level 1 Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons ECMC treats thousands of patients from all eight counties of Western New York each year. And here to talk with us about ECMC’s surgical services is Dr. William Flynn, Chief of Service Department of Surgery and Director Trauma Intensive Care Unit at ECMC. Dr. Flynn thanks for your time. So, when it comes to trauma and surgery; what are the types of surgical services you perform at ECMC?
William Flynn, MD (Guest): We perform the diagnostic studies necessary to determine the extent of injury and have a full range of therapeutic interventions to treat those injuries once diagnosed, ranging from orthopedic injuries, injuries in the chest, intracranial injuries, vascular problems, intraabdominal problems. The full spectrum of trauma care.
Bill: And these services are available right there in the Emergency Department, right, if someone rolls in, you are ready?
Dr. Flynn: The diagnostic and immediate resuscitation services are available in the Emergency Room. If more extensive operations are required, there is a fully staffed Operating Room available 24/7 to meet those needs.
Bill: And can you talk about the trauma care team when it comes to surgery?
Dr. Flynn: Yes, there are multispecialty surgeons, nurses and surgical technicians available 24/7 to evaluate and treat the region’s multiply injured patients.
Bill: So, I was thinking often arriving by helicopter, critically injured patients are treated immediately by a specialized medical team. Can you tell us more about that process as patients arrive?
Dr. Flynn: Sure. ECMC is a community resource and people arrive at the door for care by a variety of means, by helicopter, by professional ambulance, by personal vehicle and care begins immediately.
Bill: So, the full spectrum of services then?
Dr. Flynn: Yes, Bill, that’s true.
Bill: So, can you talk about the training involved? This is very specialized especially for the surgical trauma care team at ECMC. Can you talk about what each member goes through to be trained for this level of trauma service?
Dr. Flynn: The education requirement is really dependent on the job that you perform and the service that you bring. So, physicians have to go to four years of undergraduate school, medical school which is four years, and then a decision as to whether you are going to be a surgeon, or an ED doctor determines how many years you train. Professional nurses have their own educational requirements and board-certification requirements. So, it varies. It depends on the job that you do. All of the professionals here are dedicated to continuing their education in order to bring the best and most current care to bare on the communities’ injured patients.
Bill: And speaking of the community, this is very valuable to have a Level 1 trauma center equipped such as ECMC. Can you talk about this value to the community?
Dr. Flynn: Yes. The care is there 24/7 and people may not realize it until you need it. And then when the need arises after an unfortunate accident or injury, world class care is just around the corner.
Bill: So, this really is an important resource?
Dr. Flynn: Yes, it is. It’s an important resource to have and the sickest of the sick come here and the well-trained professionals deliver the care to the community when needed.
Bill: Dr. Flynn when someone enters critically injured needing care; how do you subsequently work with that person’s primary care physician and family?
Dr. Flynn: Quite commonly a patient’s pre-existing medical conditions determine your physiological response to injury and that information is available in the patient’s outpatient medical record. There’s a team of support people in our emergency room who help gather that information and add it to our medical record from the admission triage nurses to the emergency room pharmacist obtaining their home medications. It’s a tremendous asset to know the patient’s medical condition prior to injury and then when the patient has received their care and is ready for discharge; the transition back to the community care happens on discharge through discharge planning, social work, case management.
Bill: And Dr. Flynn after surgery and treatment, you offer rehabilitative services as well, is that right?
Dr. Flynn: Yes, there is inpatient rehabilitation opportunities if you can’t transition straight home and then there is outpatient rehabilitation opportunities once back home in the community to maintain skills and functionality that you obtained after care.
Bill: And Dr. Flynn this surgical team you said is available 24/7, is that correct?
Dr. Flynn: That is correct, yes.
Bill: So, that’s good to know if something happens overnight, you have people standing by that are ready.
Dr. Flynn: The Emergency Department has physicians and nurses obviously who work around the clock. We have an operating room that has anesthesiologists and operating teams ready and at standby and there is a surgical team with an operating surgeon in-house to take care of the injured patients when they come in through the door and when they need operations.
Bill: And Dr. Flynn if you could wrap it up for us. What else should we know about the surgical services at ECMC?
Dr. Flynn: I think that the surgical expertise to take care of the sickest of the sick translates into better patient care across the entire spectrum of medical and surgical services at the hospital. And it raises the care across the board.
Bill: That’s wonderful and Dr. Flynn thank you so much for your time today. We appreciate it. For more information on ECMC please visit www.ecmc.edu, that’s www.ecmc.edu. This is the True Care Healthcast from Erie County Medical Center. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.
Bill Klaproth (Host): Verified as a Level 1 Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons ECMC treats thousands of patients from all eight counties of Western New York each year. And here to talk with us about ECMC’s surgical services is Dr. William Flynn, Chief of Service Department of Surgery and Director Trauma Intensive Care Unit at ECMC. Dr. Flynn thanks for your time. So, when it comes to trauma and surgery; what are the types of surgical services you perform at ECMC?
William Flynn, MD (Guest): We perform the diagnostic studies necessary to determine the extent of injury and have a full range of therapeutic interventions to treat those injuries once diagnosed, ranging from orthopedic injuries, injuries in the chest, intracranial injuries, vascular problems, intraabdominal problems. The full spectrum of trauma care.
Bill: And these services are available right there in the Emergency Department, right, if someone rolls in, you are ready?
Dr. Flynn: The diagnostic and immediate resuscitation services are available in the Emergency Room. If more extensive operations are required, there is a fully staffed Operating Room available 24/7 to meet those needs.
Bill: And can you talk about the trauma care team when it comes to surgery?
Dr. Flynn: Yes, there are multispecialty surgeons, nurses and surgical technicians available 24/7 to evaluate and treat the region’s multiply injured patients.
Bill: So, I was thinking often arriving by helicopter, critically injured patients are treated immediately by a specialized medical team. Can you tell us more about that process as patients arrive?
Dr. Flynn: Sure. ECMC is a community resource and people arrive at the door for care by a variety of means, by helicopter, by professional ambulance, by personal vehicle and care begins immediately.
Bill: So, the full spectrum of services then?
Dr. Flynn: Yes, Bill, that’s true.
Bill: So, can you talk about the training involved? This is very specialized especially for the surgical trauma care team at ECMC. Can you talk about what each member goes through to be trained for this level of trauma service?
Dr. Flynn: The education requirement is really dependent on the job that you perform and the service that you bring. So, physicians have to go to four years of undergraduate school, medical school which is four years, and then a decision as to whether you are going to be a surgeon, or an ED doctor determines how many years you train. Professional nurses have their own educational requirements and board-certification requirements. So, it varies. It depends on the job that you do. All of the professionals here are dedicated to continuing their education in order to bring the best and most current care to bare on the communities’ injured patients.
Bill: And speaking of the community, this is very valuable to have a Level 1 trauma center equipped such as ECMC. Can you talk about this value to the community?
Dr. Flynn: Yes. The care is there 24/7 and people may not realize it until you need it. And then when the need arises after an unfortunate accident or injury, world class care is just around the corner.
Bill: So, this really is an important resource?
Dr. Flynn: Yes, it is. It’s an important resource to have and the sickest of the sick come here and the well-trained professionals deliver the care to the community when needed.
Bill: Dr. Flynn when someone enters critically injured needing care; how do you subsequently work with that person’s primary care physician and family?
Dr. Flynn: Quite commonly a patient’s pre-existing medical conditions determine your physiological response to injury and that information is available in the patient’s outpatient medical record. There’s a team of support people in our emergency room who help gather that information and add it to our medical record from the admission triage nurses to the emergency room pharmacist obtaining their home medications. It’s a tremendous asset to know the patient’s medical condition prior to injury and then when the patient has received their care and is ready for discharge; the transition back to the community care happens on discharge through discharge planning, social work, case management.
Bill: And Dr. Flynn after surgery and treatment, you offer rehabilitative services as well, is that right?
Dr. Flynn: Yes, there is inpatient rehabilitation opportunities if you can’t transition straight home and then there is outpatient rehabilitation opportunities once back home in the community to maintain skills and functionality that you obtained after care.
Bill: And Dr. Flynn this surgical team you said is available 24/7, is that correct?
Dr. Flynn: That is correct, yes.
Bill: So, that’s good to know if something happens overnight, you have people standing by that are ready.
Dr. Flynn: The Emergency Department has physicians and nurses obviously who work around the clock. We have an operating room that has anesthesiologists and operating teams ready and at standby and there is a surgical team with an operating surgeon in-house to take care of the injured patients when they come in through the door and when they need operations.
Bill: And Dr. Flynn if you could wrap it up for us. What else should we know about the surgical services at ECMC?
Dr. Flynn: I think that the surgical expertise to take care of the sickest of the sick translates into better patient care across the entire spectrum of medical and surgical services at the hospital. And it raises the care across the board.
Bill: That’s wonderful and Dr. Flynn thank you so much for your time today. We appreciate it. For more information on ECMC please visit www.ecmc.edu, that’s www.ecmc.edu. This is the True Care Healthcast from Erie County Medical Center. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.