Over the last six months, seven more nonprofit organizations have joined the Coalition for National Trauma Research (CNTR) as Affiliate members, lending support to its mission. With the investment and support of its Core, Stakeholder and Affiliate member organizations, CNTR seeks to solve a problem more than 50 years in the making: the staggering public health burden of traumatic injury resulting from the lack of a coordinated and federally funded research effort.
We are excited to welcome these new Affiliate members:
–American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons (AANS/CNS)
–American Geriatrics Society (AGS)
–National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT)
–National Blood Clot Alliance (NBCA)
–North American Thrombosis Forum (NATF)
–Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM)
–Trauma Centers Association of America (TCAA)
CNTR Board of Directors Chair, Eileen Bulger, MD, thanked the new Affiliate members, emphasizing the importance of diverse trauma stakeholder groups coming together for the benefit not only of their individual disciplines and interest areas, but for the good of the entire community. Including those organizations focused on pediatric, geriatric and special populations of all types will ensure that the treatments and therapies developed are accessible and effective for all.
“As an inclusive trauma community, we need to keep our eyes on the big goal, which is the eventual establishment of an NIH Institute dedicated to injury research addressing diverse populations and the entire continuum of injury care,” Bulger said.
CNTR believes that without a federally funded central research institute, traumatic injury will continue to be a significant cause of preventable death and disability, impacting all age groups, and the most expensive disease category in the U.S.
Dr. Ronald Stewart—a CNTR board member and a founding board member of the National Trauma Institute, the precursor to CNTR—maintained, “Without a federal home for this research, trauma centers and investigators seeking to close gaps in knowledge will continue to eke out a piecemeal and meager apportionment of funding from disparate sources that is wholly unmatched to this public health crisis.”
With the addition of these trauma-related groups as Affiliate members, CNTR now represents nearly 157,000 care providers and investigators from across the spectrum of injury care—from first responders to physicians and nurses to rehabilitation specialists and caregivers.
AANS is a scientific and educational organization promoting high quality patient care and the advancement off the neurological surgery specialty; and CNS facilitates scientific discovery in the field of neurosurgery.
AGS is a nationwide, not-for-profit society of geriatrics healthcare professionals dedicated to improving the health, independence, and quality of life of older people. The Society works across healthcare to improve care of older adults in all settings.
NAEMT represents and serves the professional interests of all EMS practitioners, including paramedics, emergency medical technicians, emergency medical responders, and other professionals providing prehospital and out-of-hospital emergent, urgent or preventive medical care. NAEMT members work in all sectors of EMS, including government service agencies, fire departments, hospital-based ambulance services, private companies, industrial and special operations settings, and in the military.
NBCA focuses on advancing the prevention, early diagnosis, and successful treatment of blood clots, such as deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and clot-provoked stroke. Blood clots are a leading cause of preventable death in the United States. And NATF is a patient advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by blood clots and related diseases.
“CNTR’s efforts to educate healthcare providers and patients about thrombosis prevention will not only help reduce the physical, emotional, and financial burden of blood clots, but will also save lives,” said Kathryn Mickelson, NATF Executive Director.
SCCM is dedicated to promoting excellence and consistency in the practice of critical care, representing all professional components of the critical care team. “Injury and its sequelae impact every aspect of our society,” said SCCM president, Lew Kaplan, MD. “It is imperative that we pursue research initiatives to help address what drives injury whether intentional or unintentional. Trauma care and ICU care are interwoven by integrated teams of experts. Therefore, SCCM and CNTR reflect a natural partnership to address the origins of injury and its consequences, as well as post-injury management and recovery as we together pursue the very best care for the critically ill and injured.”
Finally, TCAA is a non-profit trade association dedicated to securing the economic viability of America’s trauma centers and fostering a sustainable and accessible national system of trauma care. TCAA provides education, financial consultation and access to the most comprehensive trauma database and linkages to other trauma centers and systems. “The organization is pleased to join CNTR as an Affiliate Member, and the leadership looks forward to collaborating to support CNTR’s vision and mission,” added Jennifer Ward, TCAA President.
To learn more about CNTR membership and join this effort, contact Executive Director, Michelle Price at Michelle@NatTrauma.org.