Trauma Survivors Network

Over the past five decades, the care of trauma patients has been revolutionized by improvements in surgery and the growth of comprehensive trauma systems. These advances have resulted in dramatic reductions in trauma-related mortality and morbidity. Despite these improvements, long term outcomes for many trauma patients are still not optimal. Research has found that poor outcomes are not solely related to the physical injury. Rather, they are also tied to the emotional responses to the trauma and the lack of support available to patients and families.

The encouraging news is that further research on the recovery process and the psychology of injury and disability strongly suggests that we can improve post-trauma outcomes by providing peer support programs to patients and their families, helping them connect with one another, and teaching them the skills to self-manage the day-to-day challenges of recovery.

In 2008, the Trauma Survivors Network (TSN) was developed by the American Trauma Society (ATS) to help trauma centers provide the support and services patients and their families need during their recovery from serious injury.

The program works to:

• Bring together trauma survivors and families to connect with one another and share support and information about the recovery process
• Enhance survivor skills and self-efficacy to manage day-to-day challenges
• Establish a network of state-of-the-art, hospital-based peer support programs and other resources for trauma survivors and their families
• Train health care providers to deliver the best care and support to patients and their families and friends
• Build a community of advocates dedicated to improving prevention efforts, trauma outcomes and trauma systems

For additional information please reach out to us at:

 TraumaOutreach@sjhmc.org