Unfortunately, trauma cases are an all too familiar scene at McLeod, which receives more than 1,000 trauma cases a year.  Fifty percent of those are injured as a result of a motor vehicle crash.

As patients are wheeled into the trauma room, the first order of business for the McLeod Trauma Team is to stabilize the patient.

The extent of the patient’s injuries need to be known before moving forward.  “It is essential to maintain the blood flow and preserve function to the brain,” said Dr. Mark A. Reynolds, a Trauma Surgeon and the Medical Director of McLeod Trauma Services.  “That is why it is important to get to a trauma center within the first hour of the accident.”

The next step is “repair”; fix the lacerations, close the wounds, mend the fractures.  Then comes the healing and rehabilitation process.  “Rehabilitation can take months if someone has had a major injury,” said Dr. Reynolds.  “We cover all aspects of the healing process here at McLeod and it takes a large team to provide effective care.  From EMS, to our excellent emergency physicians, trauma surgeons to stop the bleeding, our intensive care nurses, to the floors dedicated to rehabilitation.  We have the best trauma team in the Pee Dee Region for taking care of the trauma patients.”

A trauma is considered any injury that is sustained from any mechanism where profound bodily injury has occurred.  The key to trauma avoidance is prevention.  According to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, more than 89% of probable causes are preventable, such as driving under the influence, failure to yield, following too closely, excessive speeding, inattention to the road, and disregarding road signs and signals.  Traffic crashes are one of the leading causes of injury-related deaths for South Carolinians of all ages.

“People don’t plan on being in an accident,” said Dr. Reynolds.  “But if an event should occur, the McLeod Trauma Center is an important part of being able to return them back to a productive life.”