New Texas Trauma Institute to streamline care

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- It's official -- Memorial Hermann Hospital is again the busiest trauma center in the country. It treats more than 55,000 patients a year. Now it has a plan to streamline trauma care.

His injuries were critical. To get him to this, his best shot at survival, he was airlifted by LifeFlight.

A sick child took a sudden turn for the worse. He, too, came in by air.

This man had a motorcycle accident in another county and was transported by LifeFlight to Memorial Hermann Hospital.

All of them arrived by air on yesterday.

Dr. Red Duke started LifeFlight 36 years ago. It's now the busiest air ambulance in the country and Memorial Hermann Hospital is the busiest trauma center; even with all this.

"People still die and I keep preaching, any injury is a preventable problem," said Dr. Duke.

"The reason children die is injury. The most common cause of death in children is injury," said Dr. Cox with UT Health, Texas Trauma Institute.

The new Texas Trauma Institute will focus on making trauma care more efficient, doing more trauma research, saving more lives. And helping trauma survivors recover more fully.

"When we look at what we did in the military, we look at a comprehensive system survival improved up to 20 percent in some cases when you really focus everybody's efforts," said Dr. John Holcomb, Director of the Texas Trauma Institute.

What they learn will make it more likely that those who lie on these gurneys in the future, will live to go home to their families.

Trauma injury is the leading cause of death from ages one to 44. The new Texas Trauma Institute is the first of its kind in Texas.

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