Need Emergency Care? Not So Fast

Would you ever think that surviving a major trauma would depend more on where it happened than what actually happened to you? Well that seems to be exactly the case according to the American College of Surgeons 2009 Clinical Congress. A report from the congress as reported by news-medical.net, shows the lack of surgeons working emergency trauma and lack of availability of trauma centers especially in rural areas, is a main reason why trauma is the leading cause of death for people under the age of 45 in the United States. A survey taken this year of trauma surgeons in each state, found that nearly 40% of the population may not be covered by a statewide trauma system.


A. Brent Eastman, M.D, FACS, vice-chair of the ACS Board of Regents and Chief Medical Officer, stressed the importance of trauma center availability to survival. "Coordinated, regionalized and accountable trauma systems are proven to get the right patients to the right hospital at the right time," said Dr. Eastman. "For victims of major trauma, access to timely, optimal care during the first 'golden' hour has been proven to save lives, restore function and prevent disability." More on this story here.