Kings County Hospital Center

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Kings County Hospital Center is a hospital located at 451 Clarkson Avenue in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City. It is under the umbrella of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the municipal agency which runs New York City's public hospitals.

According to the HHC, "Kings County was named the first Level 1 Trauma Center in the U.S." [1]. Because of this trauma center, police officers have been quoted as saying, "If I get shot... bring me to Kings County." [2]

In 1997 KCHC began a modernization program[3]. Phase 1 a 250,000 sq ft Bed Tower was completed in 2001,Phase 2 a 260,000 treatment and diagnostic center was completed in 2005 and Phase 3 an ambulatory center in 2006.

This work was managed by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, with the TDX Construction Company as the project manager. A 300,000 sq foot Behavorial Center is under construction and will be complete in 2008.

Kings County hospital has paid out more than 1/3 of all malpractice claims against the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (over $60 million). Since there are 11 city hospitals, this indicates that Kings County hospital has a very high amount of malpractice claims compared to other city hospitals. Kings County hospitals has been the most sued hospital of the city's health care system[4].

In 2003, the United States Army established a training program at the hospital called the Academy of Advanced Combat Medicine to train reservists in an emergency room that has received 600 cases per year of gunshot and stabbing victims.^[1]

[edit] References

^ Bleyer, Jennifer. "Battlefield Medics Shaped in Civilian Setting", The New York Times, December 6, 2005. "The program, called the Academy of Advanced Combat Medicine, started at Kings County two years ago when officers from the 5,300-person Eighth Medical Brigade, based at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, decided to train their reservists in a civilian emergency room.... The hospital's highly regarded, extremely busy emergency room admits 1,200 major trauma patients each year, among the most in the city."