We just addressed this very issue today at a DPH meeting....
Verification is the process by which the qualifications of a trauma
center are reviewed, and "certified" to be up to the requirements set
forth by *** (usually the ACS COT VRC) at the level that your hospital
strives to be verified at. The center can only be designated by your
governing body - in our case the CT Department of Public Health -
according to the state regulations or public health
codes/laws/regulations. In our case, we use the ACS COT as our
verifying agent, although the regulations do leave the loophole if the
DPH chooses to verify in another manner; in fact, that might happen for
Level IIIs and Level IVs due to the cost of the verification imposed by
the ACS COT.
Now, it is entirely possible for a center to be verified but not
designated. However, in an attempt to be inclusive, our DPH has thus
far decided to designate every center that achieves verification. One
could debate the merits of this way of thinking ( as I have on many
occasions) given the potential for system clutter and inefficiency re:
manpower and resources, but I will leave that for another day.
Hope that helps.
Take care,
Ron