September 2017 EMS Update: EMS Has a Role in Preventing Unnecessary Deaths From Trauma

• September 10th, 2017

Despite advances in prehospital and in-hospital care over the last half-century, trauma remains a leading cause of death in the U.S. Greater than 35,000 people die in traffic crashes each year, or about 4 every hour. One-fifth of those deaths, according to a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM), could be prevented if victims received optimal emergency and trauma care.

NHTSA and the Office of EMS see an opportunity to save more trauma victim lives by:

1. Transporting more severely injured trauma victims to level 1 or level 2 trauma centers
2. Implementing evidence-based guidelines for trauma care and destination decisions
3. Supporting the development of a national trauma care system