Trauma centers are an important but sometimes underused partner in suicide prevention.

An increase in the number of geriatric trauma patients appearing in trauma data likely reflects both a real increase in the burden of injury and changes in how injured older adults are identified and counted.

Somewhere near the bottom of the job description for a Trauma Program Manager you will find the familiar phrase: “Other duties as assigned.” What are those duties?

Hospitals that intentionally invest in APP recruitment, training, and integration today will be better positioned to meet the growing demands of trauma care tomorrow.

What happens if a hospital doesn't meet the standards? The answer is: It depends.

At its core, trauma designation and verification are not about earning a certificate on the wall. They exist to answer one question: If a critically injured patient arrives at your hospital, will every system function exactly as it should?

Trauma centers need staffing plans that grow with patient volume—not just enough to meet ACS or state requirements. Relying on minimum FTEs can lead to delayed registry work, weaker performance improvement, staff burnout, and turnover. By defining clear volume thresholds for adding trauma program, registry, PI, education, and outreach staff, hospitals can support quality care, maintain compliance, and ensure long-term program sustainability.

Trauma programs often disappear because hospitals can no longer sustain the people, resources, and regulatory requirements needed to maintain designation.

Hospital leaders make difficult decisions in rural communities when assessing capacity to provide trauma, stroke, and cardiac care.

Intermountain St. Vincent Regional Hospital provides trauma care for isolated communities in Montana. Collaboration with Level I facilities is essential for smaller hospital in trauma deserts.

Should your rural hospital become a trauma center? The decision involves far more than meeting designation standards.

Hospitals upgrade their trauma center designation to improve access to advanced trauma care, better serve their communities, expand clinical capabilities, strengthen their competitive position, and support long-term financial sustainability.

This post explores why trauma centers face closures or downgrades, highlights recent examples, and examines the effects on healthcare systems and the populations they serve.

Trauma centers succeed financially when they are part of a larger economic ecosystem, one that combines favorable payer mix, high patient volume, referral dominance, downstream specialty revenue, and health-system scale.

Becoming a verified trauma center is a complex, multi-year process that requires far more than simply treating injured patients. Hospitals must build specialized teams, develop trauma-specific protocols, collect extensive performance data, and demonstrate compliance with rigorous standards established by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). From provisional designation to final verification, each step involves significant planning, documentation, and continuous quality imp

A post describing the differences between two commonly misused terms: designation and verification.

Key strategic considerations for hospitals considering a new trauma program.

Trauma survivor story from Garrett Ebling, injured in the 35W Bridge Collapse in Minneapolis on August 1, 2007.

Trauma registries have evolved significantly over the last several decades and are now a critical part of a trauma program operations.

Trauma centers are expensive and difficult to maintain. There are several factors that make them unfeasible or unsustainable.