An awkward conversation

By UHS News Team

June 21, 2017

Categories: Children's Health  /  Emergency care  /  News  /  trauma

Would you be willing to have an awkward conversation with another parent if it might save a life? That’s the premise of the ASK Campaign (Asking Saves Kids), which encourages parents to ask the parents of their children’s friends about access to guns in the home. One out of three homes with children has a gun, and close to 1.7 million children live in a home with a loaded, unlocked gun, by one estimate. The results can be tragic. Thousands of children nationwide are injured and killed by guns each year as a result. “We really want to educate parents …Read More >

Tags: guns, prevention, safety, shooting

Hitting the road Memorial Day Weekend? Read this first.

By UHS News Team

May 25, 2017

Categories: Children's Health  /  Emergency care  /  News  /  trauma

The long Memorial Day Weekend marks the start of summer travel season. In fact,  AAA predicts that 39 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more this weekend — the most people since 2005. A strong economy and still-affordable gas prices are among the reasons. The downside of all that travel, of course, is the risk of injury and death on our highways — particularly for those who fail to properly secure themselves and their families in cars. The Texas Department of Transportation is putting out the word through its Click It or Ticket campaign that seat belt laws will …Read More >

Tags: child safety, injury prevention, Memorial Day, safety, travel

When a winter coat can be dangerous

By UHS News Team

Feb. 7, 2017

Categories: Children's Health  /  News  /  trauma

We love our puffy jackets and we love to bundle our children up on chilly days. But it turns out that they (and we) are far less securely buckled when that seatbelt or car seat is strapped across that mountain that is the puffy winter coat. By some estimates, it can add an average of four inches of slack to a child’s harness straps. It might be useful to compare that to wearing pants that are four inches too big in the waist — except with worse results. Winter coats often trick parents into believing their child’s harness straps are …Read More >

Tags: car seat, child safety, winter

Stop the Bleed

By UHS News Team

Feb. 7, 2017

Categories: Emergency care  /  News  /  trauma

A life-threatening injury can happen anywhere, and the closest help is almost always a bystander — be it a friend, a family member or a complete stranger. And because a person can bleed to death in minutes, before a first responder can arrive, University Health System on Monday held its first Stop the Bleed course — a 90-minute class that teaches a few basic skills to stop major blood loss in an emergency. The free classes will take place at University Hospital at 4 p.m. on the first Monday of every month. For now, no reservation is required. “It’s not …Read More >

Tags: bleeding, emergency, tourniquet, trauma

Restoring a photographer’s steady hand

By UHS News Team

June 17, 2016

Categories: Emergency care  /  News  /  trauma

San Antonio photographer Kevin Saunders had just completed the most ambitious project of his career — a series of images called “Turning Point” that captured San Antonio’s five missions at the time of their induction as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Saunders work involves finely detailed images that can be reproduced in sizes as large as 50 feet long but with remarkable clarity. His equipment is complex —and definitely requires two hands. That need for two hands was tested as he pulled out of his studio in the Blue Star complex just south of downtown in early May. “I was …Read More >

Tags: hand surgery, San Antonio missions, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Rising numbers of serious injuries reported

By UHS News Team

Jan. 28, 2016

Categories: Emergency care  /  News  /  Research  /  trauma

The number of seriously injured children and adults brought to University Hospital’s Level 1 trauma center has increased in each year over a five-year span. And even when accounting for population growth in the region, the rate of those injuries has also been rising year after year. Those were among the main findings from University Health System’s Third Annual Community Trauma Report, which was publicly released at a news conference Thursday. The report looks at major causes of serious injuries and trends in South Texas over a five-year period, using data from thousands of trauma patients seen at University Hospital. …Read More >

Tags: burns, crashes, falls, injuries, trauma

Cloud Walkers reach peak of Mount Kilimanjaro

By UHS News Team

Jan. 5, 2016

Categories: News  /  rehabilitation  /  Surgery  /  trauma

A remarkable journey by a San Antonio-area group ended Tuesday at the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. Reaching that peak would be an incredible achievement for anyone. But this team of climbers had an additional burden as its members made the 16,000-foot climb. They are amputees, having overcome the loss of arms or legs to injury or disease. The group, named Cloud Walkers, is made up of members of the San Antonio Amputee Foundation. University Health System is a major sponsor of the expedition, which includes former patients and volunteers. The group began the climb Dec. 29. The …Read More >

Tags: amputees, Killimanjaro

Hoverboards pose a risk

By UHS News Team

Dec. 15, 2015

Categories: Children's Health  /  Emergency care  /  News  /  trauma

If a young person on your Christmas shopping list wants a hoverboard, ignore the pleas and find a safer alternative, said Dr. Lilian Liao, director of pediatric trauma and burns at University Hospital. Retailers are increasingly pulling the item off their shelves for safety concerns, including reports of fires, explosions and trips to the emergency room. Lithium-ion batteries that power the devices appear to be the source of the fires. Airlines have banned the devices, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating them. The term hoverboard is misleading; these devices don’t float above the ground — like in the …Read More >

Tags: burns, Christmas, gifts, hoverboard, injuries, toys

Study will look at slowing blood loss after serious injuries

By UHS News Team

Aug. 19, 2015

A new research study about to begin in Bexar and surrounding counties will examine whether a drug already approved for slowing blood loss in other conditions will reduce the risk of death in adult trauma patients in shock from severe bleeding. The Study of Tranexamic Acid during Air Medical Prehospital Transport Trial — or STAAMP Trial — is a national study designed to test the use of the drug in critically injured patients in shock during air transport to a trauma center. University Hospital, San Antonio AirLife and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio will conduct …Read More >

Tags: AirLife, research, trauma

When a parked car becomes deadly

By UHS News Team

July 21, 2015

Categories: Children's Health  /  Emergency care  /  News  /  trauma

As the summer temperatures rise, so does the risk of danger to children left in hot cars. On Friday, a 2-year-old girl in the Dallas area became the 10th child to die from heatstroke in a vehicle this year in the United States. Awareness is critical in preventing these tragedies — and they are ALL preventable. A new law passed by the Texas Legislature requires hospitals and others who provide prenatal care or deliver babies to inform parents about the dangers of leaving children unattended in hot vehicles. Life-threatening conditions inside a car or truck can develop quickly. In just …Read More >

Tags: car safety, heatstroke, prevention