A Message from the Trauma Medical Director

A Message from the Trauma Medical Director

Dr. Michael Jimenez

After two years, sometimes one fails to realize the distance a team has traveled. It isn’t until you are at your destination and you happen to glance back that the realization sets in. Many mountains, valleys, and long stretches of flat land needed to be traveled in order to arrive.

I think about the different individuals who took part and answered the challenge to make Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center’s (PVHMC) Trauma Center possible. Our Trauma team is composed of experts who have moved in from across the county, while others came from different floors and units within the hospital, and finally, some who traveled across the continental United States to join the cause and the opportunity to provide quality, lifesaving care to patients suffering from major traumatic injuries.

We’ve constructed a trauma program that can finally care for those traumatically injured in this community. No longer will these patients have to travel up to 30 miles to receive the appropriate medical attention they require. They now have this care right here in Pomona, close to home.

Collectively, everyone involved did one thing in common; take a leap of faith to help build the Trauma Center. As we stand, a trauma team was assembled that guided Pomona to trauma designation and the winning of the bid to become the 15th Trauma Center in the county – a tribute to the infrastructure of the institution and a dedication to this community, which spans a history of more than a hundred years.

A trauma consult visit was completed and we were granted permission to complete our mission and develop our center. A new Trauma Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is complete, our trauma bays are complete, and more than 40 new Trauma ICU nurses have been hired. The helipad was a large piece of flat land and now, in the blink of an eye, a multistoried structure is underway and nearing completion.

Many other nursing staff and physicians have been hired with various trauma surgical expertise across the different subspecialties. The recruitment that took place and the talented individuals who comprise our team could not have been a better fit. This collaborative enthusiasm, creativity, experience, and tenacity translated into a winning recipe and together, we're able to construct what we can call the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center Trauma Program.

We are honored to be Los Angeles County’s newest Trauma Center, and are committed to bringing a higher level of care to the region with our comprehensive, trauma-related medical services.