Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital is verified as a Level II Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons and Santa Barbara County Emergency Medical Services Agency. This assures our patients the highest level of optimal care. Our Trauma Center responds to trauma emergencies throughout Santa Barbara County, as well as parts of Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties. Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Trauma Center is the only comprehensive trauma center on the Central Coast between Los Angeles and San Jose. 

Our center features: 

• 24-hour in-house coverage by senior surgical residents with immediate attending surgical back-up and supervision
• Trauma specialists on call around the clock, including:
  
  • emergency physicians
  • trauma surgeons
  • neurosurgeons
  • orthopedic surgeons
  • anesthesiologists
• Complete surgical and diagnostic facilities immediately available
• Resources to provide quality burn care
• Trauma case management including dedicated trauma nurse coordinators

Evaluation and treatment are very aggressive during the initial hours of trauma care, eliminating delays. Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital's partnership with AMR (American Medical Response) and CALSTAR (California Shock/Trauma Air Rescue) provides emergency medical transport to the Trauma Center. Because traumatic injury can affect more than just the body, mental health specialists, social workers, spiritual care services, discharge planners, and rehabilitation therapists also play an important role in recovery.

Quality Care and Research
The goal of the Trauma Program is to improve the quality of care of the trauma patient. Our Trauma Registry & Performance Improvement program participates with the National Trauma Data Bank® (NTDB), National Trauma Data Bank, National Sample Project® (NTSB) and Survival Measurement and Reporting Trial for Trauma® (SMART). These services provides risk adjusted benchmarking to Level I and II centers for adult patients, and ranks centers' performance with other participating hospitals.  It’s our mission to provide superior trauma care though commitment to our communities and to our core values of excellence, integrity and compassion.

Research and scholarly activity are some of the capabilities that distinguish trauma centers from non-trauma centers.  The Trauma and Surgical Research Dept was established in 1997. We promote and facilitate significant, ethical research in the hospital setting. By participating in clinical studies, staff and patients alike contribute to the advancement of medicine and patient care. Everyone has a role in research. Physicians, residents, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, and other healthcare professionals assist in the conduct of clinical studies. Research is a collaborative effort, with many rewards. Perhaps the biggest reward is the improvement of patient care.

The staff of three nurse researchers is dedicated to providing an excellent site for national and international studies. We have participated in more than 25 clinical studies, networking with some of the best research institutions in the nation. Specialty areas include critical care, surgery, trauma, infection, and pain management. Surgical residents and faculty have designed, implemented, presented, and published innovative research projects. We are a team that strives for excellence, and we look forward to new discoveries in the exciting world of research.

Trauma Clinic

Our Trauma Clinic is a follow-up visit for patients recently under the care of the SBCH Trauma Services. We examine the patients' physical injuries and practice wound care. Other clinical concerns are addressed, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), rehabilitation and pain management.