When a trauma victim enters the hospital after a life-altering event, his or her future can be uncertain. Car crashes, biking accidents and head injuries are just a few of the scenarios that can place a person’s life in jeopardy.
The UPMC Trauma Care System, a network of five designated trauma centers, 14 STAT MedEvac helicopters and 45 trauma surgeons, is dedicated to helping these patients recover after their injuries.
UPMC recently recognized National Trauma Awareness Month and National Trauma Survivors Day by reuniting “unexpected” trauma survivors and their families with the medical teams that took care of them following the accidents that brought them to UPMC Mercy and UPMC Presbyterian.
Many of these patients experienced injuries so severe that they were not expected to survive.
“This celebration seeks not only to honor and support you as survivors along with your families and caregivers, but to draw inspiration from you,” said Alain Corcos, M.D., medical director of trauma services at UPMC Mercy. “You may not realize it, but you are our hospitals’ superstars.”
“This is our first occasion to celebrate here, and may it be the first of many yearly gatherings to celebrate our local heroes: those who have survived traumatic injuries and are now thriving,” added Father Albie Schempp.
UPMC’s trauma centers, located at UPMC Altoona, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, UPMC Hamot, UPMC Mercy — the only Level 1 Regional Resource Trauma Center and Amercian Burn Association-verified burn center under one roof in the region — and UPMC Presbyterian, have been saving lives for 30 years.
Together they make up the largest trauma system in western Pennsylvania, treating over 11,400 patients each year. Trauma and emergency care leaders from UPMC authored the Trauma Manual, which is in use by over 30,000 trauma caregivers worldwide.
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