Trauma Resuscitation Unit (TRU)

Nurse Manager: Terry DiNardo, MSN, RN, CCRN

Members of the shock trauma staff work on a patient

The Trauma Resuscitation Unit (TRU) is located on the second floor of the Shock Trauma Center. It is immediately accessible by a dedicated bank of elevators from both the rooftop heliport and the ambulance entrance located on the ground level. It is also adjacent to the six dedicated Shock Trauma Operating Rooms. Our patient volumes increase each year with over 7000 patients being seen in FY 2005.

There are 10 resuscitation bays prepped alike, each with the capability to resuscitate two patients simultaneously in the event of a mass casualty incident. Each bay is ICU equipped, containing the following: ventilator, pulse oximetry, cardiac and hemodynamic monitoring equipment, suction, oxygen, air outlets, and a telephone.

Immediately accessible to the bays are surgical instrument trays for tracheostomy, cricothyroidotomy, thoracotomy, peritoneal lavage, vascular cutdown, chest tube insertion, pelvic external fixation, and an ultrasound unit which performs a focused abdominal sonography for Trauma (FAST). To further meet the needs of patients in the TRU or STC OR, there is a dedicated blood refrigerator containing 10 units of O+ and 2 units of O- uncrossed matched packed red blood cells, as well as patient specific blood products. The Trauma Resuscitation Unit also has immediate access to portable x-ray machines.

Members of the Trauma Resuscitation Unit work on a patient

The TRU is staffed with experienced nurses (RN's), Patient Care Technicians (PCT's), and Unit Secretaries (US). All have a passion for caring for trauma patients and strive to be the best of the best. They take to heart the STC motto "When Life is on the Line", providing exemplary compassionate resuscitative trauma care to all who come to the TRU.

The nurses who work in the TRU have a background in ICU and /or ED nursing. Many are working on advanced degrees. PCT's in the TRU have experience as EMT's or military health care providers which adds to the team's overall cohesiveness.

Photo of Trauma Resuscitation Unit member

The Unit Secretaries are experienced staff who can handle the most dynamically challenging environment and make it look easy. They remain calm, multi-tasking between registering new admissions, answering the phones for the TRU, providing appropriate STC patient information to callers, and giving directions to Shock Trauma while paging services, and handling physician and nurse requests.

The TRU nursing staff is proud to be a part of the Shock Trauma nursing team. We encourage our peers in Nursing to visit the TRU and consider us in your future career goals.