Traumatic Injury: Approach to Care

UF Health is a designated Level One Trauma Center which provides the highest level of adult and pediatric comprehensive trauma care, around-the-clock, for any and all accidents and injuries. Traumatic injuries are the result of a wide variety of blunt, penetrating and burn mechanisms. They include motor vehicle collisions, sports injuries, falls, natural disasters and a multitude of other physical injuries which can occur at home, on the street, or while at work and require immediate care.

Many traumatic injuries will be treated in the UF Health Emergency Department, while more critical injuries may be triaged by the ambulance or helicopter team as a Trauma Alert. These patients are brought directly into the Level One trauma resuscitation area where a highly-skilled professional trauma team is ready to provide immediate life-saving procedures in state-of-the-art trauma bays. Research shows that getting to the right place at the right time, commonly known as the “Golden Hour” or first 60 minutes after the occurrence of a major multi-system trauma, is critical. The UF Health adult and pediatric trauma surgeons, trauma staff and resources are dedicated 24/7 to provide this unique level of care so that critically injured patients will have the best possible chance of survival and the least residual disability from their injuries.

Following care in the trauma resuscitation area, patients may proceed to surgery, an intensive care unit or the trauma nursing floor, with all the resources and services of UF Health Shands Hospital available in a true multi-disciplinary fashion. Additionally, many trauma patients are transferred to Shands following immediate care at outside emergency departments for definitive care by our trauma and specialty teams.

UF Health has a long and rich history of commitment to trauma care, and has treated over 20,000 trauma patients since attaining Level One status. We look forward to continue serving our growing communities and provide a full continuum of trauma care and resources for you and your loved ones.