Denver Health's Level One Trauma Center is one of the world's leading Trauma Centers and has one of the highest survival rates in the country. Our skilled and specialized trauma surgeons are internationally recognized leaders in the field and quite literally wrote the book on the care of the injured patient. Patient survival, academic excellence and leadership, and comprehensive care from injury through recovery make Denver Health the leading Trauma Center in Colorado and the region. Our regional Trauma Center, which manages trauma cases in Colorado and six neighboring states, receives and cares for patients with any type of traumatic injury.
Our Health Mission
Our highly experienced trauma team provides evidence-based, patient-centered care leading to some of the best outcomes in the country. We have a proud tradition of providing high quality, cutting-edge care and are leads in trauma surgery innovation.
Experience and Professionalism
Years of experience allows our trauma surgical team to create a custom recovery plan designed for our patients. We strive to educate based upon our vast trauma experience in the management of traumatic injuries, through management guidelines, educational conferences, and a vast selection of lectures from the Denver Health Trauma Lecture Series.
Physicians Who Care
Not only are our trauma surgeons at Denver Health available 24/7 to discuss management, our Trauma Services Department can be an invaluable resource in the overall management of your trauma program. We strive to provide the optimal care for all injured patients with the goal of improving the quality of life in every injured person.
Level One Trauma
Denver Health has a long history of providing the most advanced trauma care available. Since its opening in 1860 (our first trauma patient arrived by horse after a gunshot wound from a duel), the trauma center has remained a pioneer in trauma care. As the first Trauma Center in Colorado, Denver Health was just re-verified and designated as a Level One Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons and the State of Colorado, continuing a long legacy of providing care for the most severely injured.
We are the only Level One Trauma Center in the city of Denver treating some 21,000 patients annually, admitting more than 3,000 trauma patients annually and receiving transfers from more than 82 regional hospitals.
Our Services
Denver Health's trauma surgeons collaborate and consult with leading experts providing comprehensive trauma care in the following services:
- Anesthesiology
- Critical care
- Emergency medicine
- Hand and limb microvascular replantation surgery
- Internal medicine
- Neurosurgery
- Ophthalmic surgery
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery
- Orthopedic surgery
- Pediatric surgery
- Plastic and reconstructive surgery
- Radiology
- Urologic surgery
- Vascular surgery
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Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center
In addition to its robust Adult Level One Trauma Center, Denver Health is an American College of Surgeons verified Level Two Pediatric Trauma Center. When a traumatic event happens, families stay together.
Leading Survival Rates
- 97.1 percent survival rate for blunt injuries
- 97 percent for penetrating injuries
- 98 percent overall average survival
Research
The Denver Health Trauma Center faculty has a prolific record in research, having published much of the seminal literature in trauma. We are heavily funded by the National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense, and recently received a $90 million U.S. Department of Defense contract to develop cutting-edge care for the injured patient. In 2019 alone, our surgeons gave over 175 presentations and published more than 130 articles in peer-reviewed medical journals.
Trauma Education
Denver Health's Level One Trauma Center is committed to providing trauma education to trauma centers, hospitals, physicians and
pre-hospital agencies throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Our physicians and nurses lecture nationally and internationally and have contributed to much of the literature on care of the severely injured and shocked patient. We travel to outlying hospitals to teach, train and educate healthcare providers and maintain a library of lectures online, accessible to rural health care partners. The Denver Health Trauma Lecture Series is held at Denver Health monthly for internal education and broadcasted via Webex. Anyone can access Denver Health's continuing education (CME, CNE, CE).
Our trauma experts and nursing staff provide training by request. Contact our Trauma Education Coordinator to partner with Denver Health for education or training.
Denver Health Trauma Surgeons "Wrote the Book"
Denver Health trauma surgeon Dr. Ernest 'Gene' Moore is co-author and editor of Trauma. Now in its 8th edition, the textbook is the leading reference for care of the trauma patient.