Doctors Work to Address Access to Trauma Care for Rural Residents

Rural Americans face higher trauma death rates largely because the nearest adequate care can be hours away rather than minutes, prompting physicians in Appalachian Tennessee to consolidate two Level 1 trauma centers into one coordinated network anchored at Johnson City Medical Center.

A 2024 study in The American Surgeon found the consolidation cut deaths among the most severely injured patients by nearly 24% and reduced unnecessary transfers, results researchers called larger than expected. With roughly 47 million Americans living over an hour from a high-level trauma center, a national committee is now pushing regional coordinating centers as a scalable alternative to building new hospitals outright.

Doctors involved say the goal isn't relocating rural patients away from home, but routing them efficiently to whichever facility already has what they need.

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