COLUMBIA, SC—Prisma Health Richland Hospital and Prisma Health Children’s Hospital–Midlands Trauma Centers will celebrate National Trauma Survivors Day on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. This celebration seeks to draw inspiration from and provide support to survivors of traumatic injuries and their caregivers, opening the road to their recovery from trauma.
During this event, we encourage all those who support these patients to write them a note of inspiration to aid in the recovery process and to share this note via social media thereby creating one strong voice for recovery from injury.
Trauma survivors, family, friends, their healthcare team members, and the community can participate in this year’s celebration in the following ways:
- Upload a picture of yourself and your Trauma Survivors Day sign with a message of hope and support to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with #PrismaHealth, #TraumaSurvivorsDay and #NTSD.
- Download a sign:
- Update your Facebook profile with Trauma Survivor’s Network frame.
- Join us for concert with David Francisco, a trauma survivor, on Facebook Live on May 20 at 1pm on the Trauma Survivors Network Facebook page.
Prisma Health Richland Hospital and Prisma Health Children’s Hospital–Midlands are pleased to announce their membership in the Trauma Survivors Network, a community of patients and families who are looking to connect with one another.
In 2008, the Trauma Survivors Network was developed by the American Trauma Society (ATS) to help trauma centers provide the support and services patients and their families need during their recovery from serious injury. There are over 100 TSN trauma centers in the United States.
“Joining a community like the Trauma Survivors Network can help ease the anxiety and frustration often experienced following a sudden injury,” says Alex Luis, MD, Prisma Health Richland Hospital Trauma Medical Director. “Trauma survivors and their family members can take comfort in connecting with others that have had similar experience and understand what they are going through during their recovery.”
Several programs and resources, including support groups and trauma patient handbook, are being planned and will be rolled out over the next few months at both hospitals. Comfort and Connect, a weekly drop-in for trauma patients and families, began in January 2020. It provides an opportunity for patients and families to take a break from their hospital room, grab a refreshment, learn about resources, and meet with other survivors, hospital chaplains, and even therapy dogs.
Kevin Greene, a trauma patient at Prisma Health Richland in 2018, has been working with the Trauma Survivor Network at Prisma Health Richland and enjoys meeting other trauma survivors and their families during Comfort and Connect. “I tell them, always strive to reach new levels because overcoming adversity and progressing is not only essential to life, it’s exciting! Keep your focus on your focus; because it's only up from here!"
Trauma survivors can join the Trauma Survivors Network by visiting TraumaSurvivorsNetwork.org and selecting their trauma center. The website provides practical information on injuries and how they are treated and connects you with other survivors and families who understand the challenges you are facing. It also provides information about additional programs and services available at Prisma Health Richland Hospital and Prisma Health Children’s Hospital—Midlands.
In 2019, Prisma Health Richland Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center, and Prisma Health Children’s Hospital—Midlands, a Level II Trauma Center, treated over 3,500 trauma patients.
To learn more about ways to support the Trauma Center at Prisma Health Richland Hospital, contact Maria DeHart at Prisma Health Midlands Foundation Maria.DeHart@PrismaHealth.org, visit PrismaHealthMidlandsFoundation.org or call 803-296-2175.
For more information about the Trauma Survivors Network, contact Lara Peck, Lara.Peck@prismahealth.org or 803-434-6231.