As San Antonio’s population continues to grow, the number of injuries treated at area hospitals is also on the rise. University Hospital, the city’s civilian level one trauma center, released its annual trauma report on Jan. 19, 2017.
Falls were the number one cause of injury for people of all ages in 2015, the latest year for trauma records released by University Hospital.
"Our major injuries are burn-related, fall and motor vehicle crashes," said
Lillian Liao, MD, Pediatric Trauma Medical Director and one of the trauma surgeons at University.
The hospital is joining a national campaign by the American College of Surgeons called Stop the Bleed. It’s an attempt to encourage people to jump in and stanch the flow of blood after an accident or injury, which Liao said can help cut down on preventable deaths.
"If someone holds pressure until EMS arrives so that they can take the patient to the hospital, that immediate control of bleeding at the scene can save that life," she emphasized.
The trauma report also showed the rate of children injured in car crashes jumped by 37 percent in 2015. 64 children were hit by cars that year, a rate 60 percent higher than just five years earlier. And the overall rate of injuries caused by violence rose 44 percent from 2010 to 2015.
Click here to access the full report.
