Franciscan Health is looking to take a holistic view of trauma with its 2023 trauma symposium.
"We see a little bit of everything," said Jennifer Homan, manager of trauma services at Franciscan Health Crown Point. "We do see some gunshot wounds here but the majority of our injuries are highway traffic accidents. And across the nation, you'll see that the majority of injuries that are going to trauma centers now are falls in the senior population."
She said the hospital has taken a new approach to treatment, based on the fact that a lot of traffic injuries can also involve drugs and alcohol. That led to the theme for this year's symposium, "Crossing the T in Trauma."
"So we tried to pull together the psychological component with the physical component of injury and look at that holistic approach to patient care, which is what we're doing here at the hospital," Homan told Lakeshore Public Media.
The two-day event includes presentations from trauma survivors and information on the development of the state's trauma system. It'll also feature keynote speeches from Heather Martin — a survivor of the Columbine High School shooting who co-founded The Rebels Project, a group to support survivors of trauma resulting from school shootings and other incidents — as well as Dottie Davis — a former Fort Wayne Police officer, who implemented the department's crisis intervention team. The symposium is designed for health care professionals, first responders, students and anyone else interested in addressing trauma-related issues.
Homan said a lack of awareness has been one of the challenges in providing trauma care. "Injury is the number-one killer of people age one to 44, so that age group of our younger Hoosiers, our working Hoosiers is right there," she noted.
But Homan said Indiana has made progress when it comes to supporting trauma systems. She points to the recent infusion of funding for public health, which includes injury prevention and new trauma care coordinators. "Trauma is an exciting topic in Indiana right now. I think we're really going to move the dial on this in the next couple years," she said.
The Trauma Symposium takes place October 20 and 21 at the Franciscan Health Crown Point Marian Education Center. Those attending are asked to register by October 18.
