The critical hour after severe injury when blood pressure must be restored to save the patient's life.  First determined in the 1950s by Dr. R. Adams Cowley, the Father of Modern Trauma Surgery.

A trauma patient is someone who has suffered serious and life-threatening physical injury, with the potential for secondary complications such as shock, respiratory failure and/or death.

A verified Level 1 Trauma Center is a regional resource trauma center that is a tertiary care facility central to the trauma care system.  This facility must have the capability of providing leadership and total care for every aspect of any injury, from prevention to rehabilitation. All patients who require this care should have access to it.  In its central role, the Level 1 Center must have adequate depth of resources and personnel.

In addition to acute care responsibilities, Level 1 Trauma Centers have the major responsibility of providing care, education, research, and system planning. This responsibility extends to all hospitals caring for injured patients in their regions.  For more information on what is required to become a Level 1 Trauma Center please visit the American College of Surgeons website.

Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) is "the integration of best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values." EBM advocates the use of up-to-date "best" scientific evidence from health care research as the basis for making medical decisions.

For supporters, EBM has three main advantages:

1. Offers the surest and most objective way to determine and maintain consistently high quality and safety standards in medical practice
2. Can help speed up the process of transferring clinical research findings into practice
3. Has the potential to reduce health care costs significantly

EBM is the integration of clinical expertise, patient values, and the best research evidence into the decision making process for patient care. Clinical expertise refers to the clinician's cumulated experience, education and clinical skills. The patient brings to the encounter his or her own personal and unique concerns, expectations, and values. The best evidence is usually found in clinically relevant research that has been conducted using sound methodology.

ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support) is an educational program considered to be the foundation of provision of care for individuals suffering major, life-threatening injury. The ATLS course teaches a systematic, concise approach to the early care of the trauma patient. This course is vital to guiding care for the injured patient in emergency department trauma rooms. The course training provides a common language that can save lives in critical situations.

In January 1980, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) introduced the ATLS course in the U.S. and abroad. Canada joined the ATLS Program the following year. Several countries in Latin and South America joined the ACS Committee on Trauma in 1986 and introduced the ATLS Program in their region. Now, the ATLS Program is found in over 50 countries.

Legacy Emanuel Medical Center has been a Level 1 Trauma Center accredited by the State of Oregon since 1988, and was the first ACS accredited Trauma Center in the Pacific Northwest. Legacy Emanuel Medical Center has been an authorized ATLS site since January 1981.