Trauma Care: Will It Be There When You Need It?

The tragedy in Arizona was a perfect illustration of how our emergency trauma system works in the United States. Everyone marveled at the speed at which Congresswoman Giffords was treated. It took only 38 minutes from transport to the operating room (OR) of a Level I Trauma Center at University of Arizona. This, in no small part, has probably contributed to her amazing progress that we hear about daily in the news. But this intricate coordination that was so eloquently described this past weekend by Dr. Peter Rhee, Director of the Trauma Center at University Medical Center was not a chance happening. It was a perfectly executed mass casualty disaster plan that has been practiced and drilled to ensure it runs smoothly when needed.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about 116 million patients seek emergency care every year in the United States with almost 27 million visits attributed to injury-related trauma. Trauma is the leading cause of death for younger people under the age of 45 and it is the fourth leading cause of death for all ages. Studies have found that you can reduce mortality by 25 percent if severely injured trauma patients are quickly seen and cared for at Level I trauma centers.

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