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Trauma system: the backbone of disaster preparedness
H Gill Cryer1, Jonathan R Hiatt
1Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. hcryer@mednet.ucla.edu
The Journal of Trauma
|August 12, 2009
Summary
The Los Angeles County trauma system effectively manages mass casualty incidents by distributing patients to specialized centers. This model ensures timely care for all, preventing system overload and improving disaster preparedness nationwide.
Area of Science:
- Emergency Medicine
- Trauma Surgery
- Public Health Preparedness
Background:
- Los Angeles County operates a comprehensive trauma system serving 10 million people across 88 cities.
- The system comprises 13 Level I and II trauma centers with designated catchment areas.
- It handles over 20,000 trauma activations annually.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the Los Angeles County trauma system's response protocols for mass casualty incidents.
- To evaluate the system's capacity and effectiveness in disaster scenarios.
Main Methods:
- Review of the existing trauma system structure.
- Analysis of the disaster plan and its coordination through the Medical Alert Center.
- Examination of patient distribution strategies during multicasualty events.
Main Results:
- The Los Angeles County trauma system has an organized disaster plan for distributing casualties.
- Critically injured patients are directed to Level I centers via air, severe injuries to Level I/II centers by ground/air, and less severe injuries to community hospitals.
- The system has been successfully utilized in multiple mass casualty events over 25 years.
Conclusions:
- The trauma system ensures timely and optimal care for all critically injured patients during disasters by distributing them across multiple centers.
- This approach prevents overwhelming individual trauma centers and avoids diverting patients to non-trauma facilities.
- Implementing similar trauma systems nationwide is recommended to enhance national disaster preparedness and daily access to quality trauma care.
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