Traumatic Injury Care

Trauma is the leading cause of death of persons under the age of 40 in the United States and is defined as an injury caused by physical force – such as a fall or motor vehicle collision. At TraumaONE, we are dedicated to caring for patients during the critical time after a serious injury. Working in conjunction with Parkview Hospital’s Level II Trauma Center, we provide rapid evaluation and highly specialized treatment for patients whose lives and limbs are at risk. A TraumaONE fellowship-trained orthopedic traumatologist is available at Parkview 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in addition to other ONE surgeons, physician assistants and support personnel.

When it comes to trauma, a team approach is crucial to saving lives and reducing long-term disabilities. That’s why TraumaONE and Parkview are working throughout the region to provide coverage and response that is nationally recognized.

Trauma is an injury caused by a physical force. Trauma is often the result of motor vehicle crashes, falls, drowning, gunshots, fires and burns, stabbing, or blunt assaults.

Trauma is the leading cause of death among people 40 and under-more than any other disease or illness. Nearly 100,000 people of all ages in the United States die from trauma each year-roughly half of them in automobile crashes. Children and young adults feel the greatest impact of trauma. According to the national Center for Heath Statistics, trauma (unintentional injuries + homicides) causes:

  • 43% of all deaths from age 1 to 4
  • 48% of all deaths in ages 5 to 14
  • 62% of all deaths in ages 15 to 24

Trauma can strike at any time of the day. Each year, eight to nine million individuals suffer disabling injuries in the United States, with more than 3,000,000 of the suffering permanent disabilities.

Trauma care is a concept that was born from the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Response time improved dramatically from World War I to the Korean and Vietnam wars, and so did survival rates. Helicopters run by trained paramedics brought the emergency department to the victim and then transported them to Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) units. Civilian resources in the 1960s were primitive by comparison to military emergency medial capabilities, as more people were dying on U.S. streets than in the war. Even today, the number of people killed in motor vehicle crashes each year exceeds that of the total number of American soldiers killed in the Vietnam conflict. There was great potential in bringing military medicine home.

In 1966, the National Academy of Sciences and National Resource Council published a report that characterized trauma as “the neglected disease of modern society.” The report recommended that a national trauma association be developed to help reduce trauma’s toll, by pooling efforts of professional and lay organizations to stimulate public and professional education and community service.

In response to this key recommendation, the American Trauma Society was founded in 1968. It is endorsed by the American College of Surgeons, the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the National Safety Council, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.

Patient Education Resources

At ONE, we strive to be your source for the latest information to help you fully understand your condition and treatment options. The links on this page connect you with the Parkview Level II Regional Trauma Center and articles provided by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Parkview’s Regional Trauma Center

AAOS Broken Bones & Injury Articles