Health

UCSD Trauma Surgeon Urges Prevention First

By Alison St John / Reporter

Published April 14, 2009 at 6:20 AM PDT

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

More than 150,000 Americans die from trauma each year. It is the leading cause of death for people aged 1-45, and a growing problem for seniors who are living longer, more active lives. Unfortunately, most people do not think trauma will happen to them. We'll explore trauma care in San Diego and what you need to know to prevent - and survive - trauma.

Maureen Cavanaugh: You never know when you're going to need it, but there's nothing more important when you do. If you suffer an accident, a crash or an attack, you'd better hope that there's a medical trauma center near you. If you live in San Diego County, there probably is. But that's not the case in all parts of the country. Trauma centers are expensive to maintain and they require a large, skilled staff.

In addition, relatively few medical students want to go into trauma care these days. A lot of other specialties pay better. And being a trauma doctor means working long hours, and spending much of your time being on call for emergencies.

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Last year, Tom Fudge spoke with Dr. Raul Coimbra, chief of UC San Diego's Trauma Center, about the reality and the future of trauma rooms, and the role they play in our health care system.

Guests

Dr. Raul Coimbra, chief of UCSD's Trauma Center.

Logan Jenkins, columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Health

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.