The Division of Trauma in the Department of Surgery is responsible for the coordination of all trauma care at Rhode Island Hospital, the state’s only Level I trauma center. This entails administrative oversight, trauma prevention, education and research.

Walter L. Biffl, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery, Brown Medical School
Chief, Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care

William G. Cioffi, Jr., MD
J. Murray Beardsley Professor and Chairman
Brown Medical School Department of Surgery
Surgeon-in-Chief
Rhode Island Hospital

David T. Harrington, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery, Brown Medical School
Director, Rhode Island Hospital Burn Clinic
Associate Residency Program Director

The Division of Trauma is responsible for the initial evaluation, acute care and follow-up of all multi-system trauma patients admitted to this state’s only Level I trauma center. The trauma center was verified by the American College of Surgeons in 1995 and reverified in 1998. In addition, faculty of the Division of Trauma is responsible for nonreferred, emergency general surgery care and all members of the Division have active general surgery practices.

Approximately 2,300 trauma patients are admitted to Rhode Island Hospital each year: 90% blunt trauma, 7% penetrating trauma, and 3% burn. Patients 17 years of age and older are cared for on the adult Trauma Service and those 16 years of age and younger are cared for by the Pediatric Surgery Service. The statistical breakdown of trauma care provided by the Division of Trauma can be found in the Trauma Report, which is published every three years.

The Trauma Service is active in the development of patient care algorithms in an attempt to streamline and unify trauma patient care. These algorithms are published yearly in the Trauma Resident Handbook.

The Trauma Service includes faculty and a full complement of Surgery and Emergency Medicine residents and medical students. The service typically consists of a Surgical chief resident, two Trauma residents at the fourth and fifth years of training, an Emergency Medicine resident at the third or fourth year of training, two Surgical interns and one Emergency Medicine intern. In addition, the Brown University School of Medicine students rotate on the Trauma Service as part of their core surgical experience and a subinternship in Trauma is a popular elective among senior medical students.

The Division of Trauma is also initiating the development of a voluntary, statewide trauma system to provide coordinated trauma care in the state of Rhode Island.

A major responsibility of the Division of Trauma is to provide a coordinated education program for the residents and student who rotate on the service. The educational objectives are accomplished by daily attending walk rounds and two weekly conferences, including Monday morning Trauma Conference and Friday morning Trauma Resuscitation conference. The Trauma Resident Handbook is published yearly as a key reference for residents and students rotating on the service. The Division of Trauma also coordinates the American College of Surgeons Advanced Trauma Life Support Course (both instructor and provider courses).

Members of the Division of Trauma participate in both clinical and basic science research programs. Members are well published in peer-reviewed journals and actively participate in regional and national organizations related to both trauma and general surgery.