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Show U Of U To Expand Intensive Burn Center Plans to expand the University of Utah Medical Center's burn and trauma unit from three to 10 beds are under way, and officials say the new facility should be ready to accept patients by next summer. Presently, the small, three-bed unit located in temporary quarters in university hospital's rehabilitation division has to limit the number of burn cases it can accept for treatment. Dr. Frederic Chang, head of emergency services and director of the burn and trauma unit, said the small facility has had a 100 percent occupancy rate since it opened in March 1974. "It has been exclusively for burn patients, but because of its limited size, we have not been able to accept all patients requesting its services," Dr Chang said. The expanded facility will have its own operating room, treatment area, hydrotherapy equipment and a specially trained nursing and physiotherapy staff. One portion of the unit will be for trauma patients and the other for burn victims, the director added. Trauma patients are currently being care for initially In an emergency department setting, then moved to various patient care areas for followup treatment. The expanded facility will allow them to be treated in a self-contained unit by personnel trained in the long-range followup of severely injured accident victims. Once the critical period is passed, such patents can then be moved to other rooms within the hospital, Dr. Chang said. The enlarged facility will also provide a better training program for medical students, residents, nursing personnel and other allied health practitioners Interested in learning more about the burn-trauma patient. |
