Preventing Trauma, Saving Lives

To fully appreciate the need for injury prevention, you first have to consider that trauma is the leading cause of death in Americans under the age of 47. The lives lost well in advance of normal life expectancy make the impact of trauma equal to cancer, heart disease and HIV combined. Fortunately, there’s a cure — prevention.

The doctors, nurses and staff at University Health are experts in extremely complex, lifesaving trauma care. We also are committed to total injury prevention. That’s why we measure our success in two ways: those who leave our Level I trauma center restored to health, and those who never need our care.

Partners in Injury Prevention

University Health partners with others in the community on a number of programs designed to prevent trauma. We provide hundreds of car seat classes on how to properly install them. We visit schools and talk to children and teens about the consequences of distracted driving. We help older adults avoid falls — a major cause of disability and death. We support a community-wide commitment to safer driving, to safer streets and to safer homes.

Leading by Example

University Health is also the leader of Safe Kids San Antonio. We dedicate staff, operational support and other resources to keep kids safe in our community. In addition to our role with the Safe Kids coalition, University Health experts constantly seek new opportunities to lead efforts to prevent critical injuries throughout South Texas.

In 2023, University Health earned the inaugural Dr. Martin R. Eichelberger Community Organization Award for its commitment to childhood injury prevention.

Our Programs

Injury prevention is the only cure for traumatic illness and injury. The experts in our Injury Prevention Department lead our safety efforts for children and adults with educational programs and safety workshops designed to prevent unintentional and intentional injury, such as:

• Home safety
• Fall prevention for kids and seniors
• Heatstroke prevention
• School and community education, including bike and helmet safety and sports clinics
• Parent and child education, including burn prevention, fire safety and tips for a safe holiday