Warming and treatment of mild hypothermia in the trauma resuscitation room--an intervention algorithm.

As a result of the entire process awareness was heightened and the staff is now more sensitive to the need for warming patients in the trauma resuscitation room. A formal protocol for temperature monitoring and warming in the resuscitation room was developed and implemented. Our lack of documentation and embarrassment at our site verification lead us to be even more vigilant of those patients who arrive hypothermic, and institute methods of warming sooner rather than later. We continue to monitor temperature documentation and when there is lack of compliance, those individuals are counseled with expected improvement within the next monitoring period.