Note: this editorial was published in the December 18, 2021 edition of the Toledo Blade.
The University of Toledo Medical Center is back after a rough few years. Nothing makes that more clear than plans to return the hospital to a Level 2 Trauma Center.
The shift to a Level 3 center happened in 2019, so the recovery is remarkably quick and a tribute to the new leadership at the university. The center recently obtained provisional approval for a move back up the ladder. In 2019 the center held Level 1 status.
The move will require an increase in staffing. That likely won’t happen until the middle of next year. And then of course, who knows what the omicron variant might bring?
The good news is, more and more local programs prepare students for roles in the field of medicine and medical care. Local training for local jobs creates a winning situation for patients and providers.
Too many people thought the university and the former Medical College of Ohio hospital were dying a slow death. Instead, the school sat dormant until committed citizens, doctors, professors, staff, and university leaders pushed to turn things around. The key person among those leaders was UT President Gregory Postel.
And turn around they have — from financial disaster to a future for the medical school and the hospital.
Those citizens included notables like Carty Finkbeiner and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), and many nonprofessional public advocates who cared about the hospital and the medical school.
Many had experienced either in person or through family members the wonderful care at UTMC.
Challenges remain, including staffing shortages and the transfer of some cases to other hospitals, largely because of the shortage.
The long-term goal, said Dr. Michael Ellis, the chief medical officer, is to return UTMC to a Level 1 trauma center. That may take some time. Then again, many folks thought time was up for UTMC just a year ago.
The future for UTMC, though, is just beginning.