Arizona DHS: State leads in treatment for traumatic brain injuries

It is estimated that 1,000 people die every week from traumatic brain injuries in the United States. But if you suffer a severe brain injury in Arizona, the National Institutes of Health say you will likely receive the best emergency services treatment available in the country.

The National Institutes of Health chose Arizona as the only state to evaluate the national standards for prehospital emergency care of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). With Arizonas Excellence in Prehospital Injury Care (EPIC) project. Nearly 100 fire departments and ground/air ambulance companies have been trained in the national standards, covering more than 80 percent of the population. Those agencies send treatment information to the Arizona Department of Health Services and The University of Arizona College of Medicine for tracking and evaluation.

The EPIC partnership across the state is allowing the implementation and evaluation of state-of-the-art treatment at the scene of an accident and is tracking how EMS care impacts the final outcome of patients, said Dr. Daniel Spaite, Professor of Emergency Medicine at The University of Arizona College of Medicine. We know that treatment decisions immediately after a severe brain injury are critical.

That response, in the first few minutes after TBI, may have more impact on how well a patient recovers than any treatment at a hospital or in rehabilitation. Find out if the EMS agency in your area is EPIC on the epic.arizona.edu website.

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Arizona DHS: State leads in treatment for traumatic brain injuries