Press Release - Fire Departments, State, University Take on Brain Injury

Fire Departments, State, University Take on Brain Injury
EPIC Study Coalition Includes University of Arizona, Emergency Responders

From: Al Bravo, (602) 827-2022      April 20, 2011

PHOENIX – With 1.4 million victims of traumatic brain injury (TBI) reported annually in the United States, the University of Arizona, the Arizona Department of Health Services and local fire department/Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responders throughout Arizona will be implementing the most comprehensive 911 system “attack” on TBI ever attempted. 

The Arizona Emergency Medicine Research Center at the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix and the Arizona Department of Health Services on Wednesday announced the Excellence in Prehospital Injury Care (EPIC) project that will bring first responders, the state health department and university researchers together to improve brain injury treatment in EMS systems throughout the state.

“We are going to save lives and improve the quality of life for those who suffer traumatic brain injury with the standards developed through this project,” said Ben Bobrow, MD, medical director of the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Trauma System for the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Under a grant received from the National Institutes of Health, Arizona will implement guidelines that have been studied across the country and the impact of this approach to patient care will be tracked by the Arizona Emergency Medicine Research Center. The research center, part of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, will then be able to evaluate the processes to determine their effectiveness and identify the number of lives saved with optimal treatment across Arizona.

“Only through this amazing coalition of first responders, state health officials and university researchers can this kind of study be undertaken,” said Will Humble, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. “We know that through this effort lives will be saved and chances of recovery will grow dramatically.”

Representatives from the state and the research center on Wednesday joined the fire officials from Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Yuma, Flagstaff and Glendale, ambulance companies and the Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona in announcing the statewide effort during a demonstration at the Glendale Regional Public Safety Training Center.

The study addresses the impact of traumatic brain injury, which kills 50,000 people and sends 235,000 more to the hospital each year in the United States. Half of those fatalities come within two hours of suffering the traumatic brain injury, said Dan Spaite, MD, director of research for the Arizona Emergency Medicine Research Center and one of the principal investigators for the study.

“In fact, there’s very strong evidence that the care provided in the first few minutes has a profound impact on survival,” Dr. Spaite said. “The idea that the outcome of TBI is solely determined by the care occurring at the hospital has changed radically. There is now overwhelming evidence that rapid response by fire or EMS personnel combined with state-of-the-art prehospital treatment could double or even triple survival rates.”

Federal officials estimate that at least 5.3 million Americans have a long-term need for help to perform daily living activities as a result of brain injury.

“That translates into $60 billion in direct and indirect medical costs annually,” said Dr. Spaite. “The societal burden of TBI is immense.  But our state is now poised to make a dramatic impact on this enormous public health emergency. “

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The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix admitted its first class of first-year medical students in August 2007. The College of Medicine – Phoenix has 168 students training to be physicians. The college seeks to promote health and improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease for the people of Arizona and beyond through education, research and patient care.