JH-IIRU Team Members Participate in Surgical Grand Rounds at VCU

Recently, JH-IIRU director, Adnan Hyder and associate director, Kent Stevens, were invited to participate in surgical Grand Rounds at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Medical Center.

While there, Dr. Stevens presented on care of the injured patient in the developing world, focusing on the Unit’s trauma care efforts in Kenya as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Road Safety Program.

There are four specific aims of the trauma care efforts in Kenya, 1) to understand and evaluate the transport systems in the country (both formal and informal); 2) to evaluate the existing emergency response system; 3) to explore the triage capabilities of participating hospitals/healthcare facilities;  and 4) to evaluate hospitals’ resources and infrastructure available for the injured patient.

In order to accomplish these goals, it is important to have multi-sector engagement including hospital administrators, practitioners and clinicians as well as the local and national governments and Ministries of Health. It’s equally important, Dr. Stevens said, to focus efforts on areas that will have the most impact.  

In order to be most effective, the Unit’s trauma care efforts are focusing training of both pre-hospital and in-hospital trauma care providers while also developing and implementing trauma registries,  and working to develop a dependable EMS communications system. The Unit is also advocating for increased stakeholder engagement in order to strengthen trauma care legislation in the country. Dr. Stevens is also developing a Trauma Care Quality Improvement Program and is o recommending continuing the trauma care evaluation using the Trauma Care System Profile (TSP) tool.

Improving the care of the injured patient in Kenya must be a multi-step approach that involves numerous organizations working in the country in an ongoing effort to ensure longevity of the program.