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  3. Regional Burn Center Receives ABA Reverification

Regional Burn Center Receives ABA Reverification

​The UC San Diego Regional Burn Center has completed a successful American Burn Association (ABA) reverification visit as San Diego County and Imperial County’s only adult and pediatric burn center. The ABA team recommended reverification without any deficiencies, pending approval of the ABA Verification Committee.

This recommendation exemplifies the burn program’s ability to meet the highest standards of care for burn-injured patients. Reverification from the ABA distinguishes the center to patients, families, third-party payers, government, and accreditation organizations, and demonstrates that the UC San Diego Regional Burn Center provides the highest quality of patient care to burn patients from time of injury through rehabilitation.

The rigorous reverification process included a pre-visit, a virtual onsite survey and a post-visit where the ABA team made the recommendation for reverification. The recommendation was made after the UC San Diego regional burn team, led by Burn Director Dr. Jeanne Lee and Burn Program Manager Eli Strait, RN, presented evidence based on consensus standards that established that the threshold for high quality burn care had been met. The nursing response to standards was presented by Jeremy Cabrera, Burn Nurse Director. All stakeholders were involved in these presentations, including Burn Surgeons Dr. Laura Godat and Dr. Sara Higginson.

The burn program team submitted an 80-page burn care quality review document as part of the process, overviewing burn center admissions, administration and direction; certifications and trainings; teaching and education; advance practice professionals, nursing, therapy, pharmacy, members and consultants; quality improvement, pre-hospital care, the emergency department, intensive care unit, operative services, anesthesiology, plastic surgery, outpatient clinic, rehabilitation, ambulatory care, community reintegration, prevention and outreach; advocacy, research, disaster planning and mortality rates.

The UC San Diego Regional Burn Center is led by surgeons from the Department of Surgery in the Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, and has been at the Hillcrest campus site since 1973. It remains one of the signature programs at UC San Diego and has throughout its history been recognized nationally for its extraordinary outcomes and innovative approaches to the care of burn patients. Many members of the Department in addition to our Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery faculty are critical to the success of this program including our Plastic Surgery team, Advanced Practice Providers, Residents and Staff. Congratulations to Drs. Lee, Godat, Higginson, Doucet and the broader team of contributors on this important achievement.

Helping patients heal emotionally and physically from mild, severe and life-threatening burn injuries is a top commitment of our multidisciplinary burn center team. With leading-edge treatments, advanced diagnostic and surgical techniques, and a comprehensive team approach to burn care, we are able to respond to even the most complex medical issues.

Our burn center is the only one in the region to be verified by the American College of Surgeons and American Burn Association as a pediatric and adult burn center. We care for all residents of San Diego and Imperial counties who have experienced major or minor burns and critical soft tissue conditions.

Each year, our team treats approximately 450 patients, including infants and children, and hundreds more as outpatients in the burn clinics.