TOLEDO, Ohio — A south Toledo neighborhood is thrilled to hear its hospital is now able to care for severely injured people in a quicker fashion.
The University of Toledo Medical Center was upgraded to a Level II trauma center - a fight that was led by the community.
"This shows how communities can make a difference when they get together and stay on a subject," said Phil Mariasy of the Save UTMC group.
Mariasy joined the group back in 2019. He says there was a real fear the hospital would be sold and moved across town.
"Frankly, we were concerned for property values in the neighborhood, declining quality of life," Mariasy said.
UTMC dropped from a Level I Trauma Center to a Level III in 2019.
Several months later, members of Save UTMC came to the hospital with a list of suggestions to prevent the facility from closing. One idea was to work toward an upgrade in trauma designation.
RELATED: Save UTMC Coalition sends recommendations on hospital's future to University of Toledo President
"Not long ago UTMC was struggling a little bit," said Aela Vely, medical director for trauma and surgical critical care. "The community rallied. They recognized UTMC is so important to them. This is our way to respond to say, 'Thanks for being there for us. We're there for you too now.'"
Mariasy said he's thankful for new leadership in the UT President's Office to help turn things around for UTMC.
This Level II designation means the hospital has more staff to respond quicker to more severe cases than under a Level III designation. That means more staff was hired to meet the need.
"We are better and stronger and can take care of our people," Vely said.
Mariasy said it's a great step forward. In the future, he said the group would like to see more residence programs and clinics return to the south Toledo campus.
"We would just like to see the efforts put back into UTMC that made it great in the first place," Mariasy said.
UTMC will operate under provisional status until its next regular review from the American College of Surgeons in the next year.
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