Memorial Central Hospital in Colorado Springs gets highest trauma status

Memorial Central Hospital in Colorado Springs has received a designation held by no one else in the region and that is one of just four in the state.

The designation of being a Level 1 trauma center means the hospital can now treat most serious and complex injuries without having to fly those patients to Denver-area hospitals.

According to hospital staff members, state officials visited Memorial in January and presented the hospital with its new status Monday. The hospital announced the designation during a news conference Tuesday.

Staff members said Memorial is the only hospital in southern Colorado to have Level 1 trauma status.

The staff said Memorial has gradually built up to the higher status during the past several years by investing money, acquiring new equipment and hiring top surgeons.

But what truly makes the hospital worthy of the designation, staff members said, is having a teaching and research component as part of the upgraded medical care.

Memorial also replaced its Memorial Star helicopter with a new version called LifeLine.

Among the first recipients of Level 1 care was London Lyle, a senior at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, who was seriously injured in a car crash during her sophomore year.

“I had 26 broken bones,” she said. “My car rolled several times, I was ejected and the car landed on top of me.”

Lyle said Memorial doctors weren’t sure initially whether to treat her as a child or as an adult. They made the decision to treat her as an adult, which helped keep her from being flown to Denver.

“That was huge,” said Christine O’Brien, Lyle’s mother. “I was so stressed out, her father was gone, it was great to not have to go to Denver to be with her.”

Lyle has made a complete recovery and plans to major in journalism this fall at the University of Colorado.

Memorial also recently became the region’s only hospital to be certified as a comprehensive stroke center.