Trauma & Emergency Health Care Resources

A Resource Library for Trauma & Emergency Health Care Professionals

Trauma Resources

Trauma Center Designation Guide for Hospital Executives

The Trauma Division developed a guide to help hospital executives understand why trauma center designation is important, their role in the process, and how it is achieved and maintained.

Best Practices Guidelines for Trauma Center Recognition of Child Abuse, Elder Abuse, and Intimate Partner Violence

The Best Practices Guidelines for Trauma Center Recognition was published by ACS Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) along with The Committee on Trauma and The American College of Surgeons.

Telemedicine in Rural Trauma Facilities

The Health Facility Compliance Guidance Letter from the Texas Health and Human Services provides instruction to hospitals in counties with a population of less than 30,000 on the use of telemedicine medical services to satisfy a Level IV trauma facility designation requirement.

Burn Clinical Practice Guideline

TETAF published the Burn Clinical Practice Guideline to provide clinical guidance for Texas hospitals regarding the treatment of burn patients.

2024 Burn Injury Summary Report

The American Burn Association (ABA) released its 2024 Burn Injury Summary Report that includes data from 2019-2023 from participating burn centers.

Texas Designation Survey Guidelines

The Texas Department of State Health Services released the Texas Designation Survey Guidelines to establish a standardized structure and process for designation surveys in Texas. The guidelines provide elements on planning and conducting surveys for facilities and surveyors. The guidelines go into effect on January 1, 2024.

Texas Trauma Registrar

There are several resources for trauma data, including the American College of Surgeons Best Practice Guidelines. Additionally, the Texas Trauma Coordinators Forum (TTCF) offers access for members to data dictionaries, education, and other resources to maintain the highest quality of data in your facility’s trauma registry. TETAF also offers its Hospital Data Management Course designed for trauma registrars.

ACS Trauma Quality Programs - Best Practices Guideline for Acute Pain Management in Trauma Patients

ACS Trauma Quality Programs released the Best Practices Guideline for Acute Pain Management in Trauma Patients in November 2020. Click here to view the guideline.

What is Trauma-Informed Care?

Learn more about the benefits of trauma-informed care and how to become a trauma-informed organization from the Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc.

EMS Resources

Pediatric Resources

Pediatric Transfer Toolkit Available

TETAF has been authorized to share the Inter Facility Transfer Toolkit for the Pediatric Patient toolkit. The nationally developed downloadable resource is based on hospital best practices and current literature. More than 10,000 children are transferred annually to access higher levels of care and specialty services. Such moves are stressful for the patient and his/her family as well as for caregivers and facilities. The Inter Facility Transfer Toolkit for the Pediatric Patient toolkit provides resources to support the establishment of agreements or memorandums of understanding to facilitate transfer of children to specialty resources when need.

Organized in 10 sections, the toolkit will aid in the development of pediatric transfer guidelines to assist staff to accomplish a safe and timely transfer. Content is based on the best practices at hospitals across the U.S. and the current literature.

The downloadable toolkit was developed by the Emergency Nurse Association Pediatrics Committee, the Pediatric Special Interest Group of the Society of Trauma Nurses and EMS for Children National Resource Center.

Geriatric Resources

The incidence of geriatric trauma admissions is increasing. Texas trauma care providers should be aware of the differences in the triage and management of this patient population. Health care providers with additional knowledge and training in the principles of geriatric medicine will ensure this population receives optimal patient-centered care. The links below provide research, nationally accepted guidelines, protocols, tool development and best practices.

  • The American College of Surgeons’ Trauma Quality Improvement Program has developed evidence-based protocols and practices to improve trauma care in elderly patients. ACS TQIP Geriatric Trauma Management Guidelines.
  • The American Geriatrics Society provides Beers Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults. The late Mark Beers, MD, cataloged medications that can cause adverse drug events in older adults due to their pharmocologic properties and the physiological changes of aging.
  • “Cognitive Screening Tools,” an article in the January 2013 issue of Clinician Reviews provides helpful information regarding the early recognition of cognitive changes and possible underlying dementia.
  •  The “Geriatric Trauma Practice Management Guideline” by the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma is based on more current research with the goal of providing more specific guidance regarding triage issues, correction of medication-induced bleeding risk and end-points for resuscitation.
  • The Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma provides triage guidelines for decision-making in the care of geriatric patients.

 

Acute Care Resources