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Decide to Save Lives

Wednesday, July 15, 2009 - 1:00pm (EST)

View this archived webcast below today!

Upon arrival at an injury scene, deciding whether the patient requires care at a trauma center is a life-or-death decision. The profound importance of this decision has been reinforced by CDC-supported research that shows that care at a Level I trauma center lowers the risk of death by 25% for severely injured patients compared with treatment received at a non-trauma center. This webcast, presented by Richard C. Hunt, MD, FACEP, director of CDC’s Division of Injury Response, will provide details of the newly revised “Field Triage Decision Scheme: The National Trauma Triage Protocol,” developed by CDC in collaboration with the American College of Surgeons-Committee on Trauma and with support from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This revised Decision Scheme is based on current best evidence in trauma triage and has been embraced by leaders in EMS and medicine. The Decision Scheme has also been endorsed by 17 national organizations and received concurrence from NHTSA. Implementation of the revised Decision Scheme by EMS systems and providers can help improve trauma care for patients around the country and reduce deaths, disability and costs from injuries. Presented with the CDC.

Speaker(s):

Richard C. Hunt, MD, FACEP
Director of the Division of Injury Response
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC

Richard C. Hunt, MD, FACEP, is the director of the Division of Injury Response (DIR), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (Injury Center) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Hunt leads efforts to improve emergency care and reduce injuries and injury-related deaths through evidence-based practices in field triage and trauma care nationally and internationally. Prior to joining CDC, he served as professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the State University of New York, Upstate Medical University at Syracuse. He also served as the chair of the American College of Emergency Physicians, Trauma Care and Injury Control Committee; as president of the National Association of EMS Physicians; and the founding president of Advocates for EMS.