Bridgette Bateman, RN, CCRN, has been named trauma program manager for Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center. Sierra Vista is the first and only designated trauma center in San Luis Obispo County, as approved by the board of supervisors in 2012. Howard Hayashi, MD, leads the trauma team as medical director.

In her new role, Bateman is responsible for maintaining Sierra Vista’s trauma center verification and leading process improvement projects related to trauma. She will work closely with Sierra Vista’s trauma team, emergency medical services (EMS) and other local first responders to help ensure standards of care for trauma patients in San Luis Obispo County. Some of her time will also be spent educating the community on injury prevention and personal safety.

Bateman has worked at Sierra Vista for the past 13 years, most recently as clinical nurse supervisor. Her nursing experience includes critical care and emergency services. For the last five years, Bateman has been an instructor for Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) and an integral part of Sierra Vista’s trauma program. Bateman received her associate’s degree in nursing from Cuesta College and later was a clinical instructor for the program.

The trauma center at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center is verified as a Level III trauma center by the Verification Review Committee (VRC), an ad hoc committee of the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Sierra Vista is the only hospital along the Highway 101 corridor to achieve this status between Santa Barbara and San Jose.