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Criteria for admission to Red or Blue

Trauma Services 

There are two trauma services – the Red Resident Service and the Blue APP Service. Any patient can be admitted to either service. In general, however, the following criteria should be followed as a guideline: 

Assignments to Red resident team 

  • Operated on by Red Resident team, excluding PEGs and trachs 

  • Injury patterns that will likely require a trauma surgery (excluding ribs, see below) 

  • Requiring serial abdominal exams 

  • Grade 3 or higher solid organ injuries  

  • Greater than 5 rib fractures or bilateral (not all rib fractures go to red.  Rib fractures can go to either team) 

  • Pts which will greatly enhance the resident’s education 


Assignments to Blue resident team 

  • Operated on by Blue APP team 

  • APPs should come to OR to assist with surgeries on Blue pts where residents are not assisting.  Please communicate that day with the trauma attending to ensure operative coverage of those patients. 

  • Isolated head or extremity injury 

  • Blue team should carry more of the LTC patients 


  

Patients can be moved between services on at the end of the day on Mondays and Fridays WITH ATTENDING APPROVAL if there is a significant imbalance between the censuses. Additionally, if a Blue patient undergoes an operation with resident support (excluding trach, PEG, and ribs), that patient should be moved to the Red service (e.g. a Blue patient admitted with a femur fracture develops a small bowel obstruction that requires an ex-lap).  

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