Inside Trauma Prevention: How University Medical Center New Orleans is working to stop injuries before they happen

May is National Trauma Awareness Month. The celebration highlights a simple reality. Many of the most serious injuries treated in trauma centers are preventable. Awareness is the first line of defense. 

And this fact shapes how University Medical Center New Orleans approaches its mission. As part of LCMC Health, University Medical Center operates as a Level 1 trauma center. This designation requires more than clinical excellence. It requires a sustained, measurable commitment to injury prevention across the community.  

Patricia Clesi, BSN, RN, coordinator of University Medical Center’s Community Injury Prevention Program, said the team’s mission is laser focused. “All our efforts are made to keep people from coming through our doors,” Clesi explained. 

Madison Caillouet, MPH, community outreach specialist at University Medical Center, believes her department plays a vital role in the community.  

“Trauma is often sudden and unexpected,” Caillouet pointed out. “Having the right resources, skilled personnel, and coordinated systems in place is essential to improving outcomes when seconds matter most.” 

But, also, preventing traumas in the first place starts with working proactively in University Medical Center’s myriad programs. These programs target the most common causes of preventable injury in the region, including motor vehicle crashes. The team’s “ammunition” includes focusing on behavior, education, and early intervention. 

The Sudden Impact Program 

One of the most established initiatives at University Medical Center is the Sudden Impact Program, developed 29 years ago by Bridget Gardner, RN, trauma program specialist. It is a hospital-based, full-day experience for high school sophomores.  

The idea, Gardner explained, is to get the attention of students when they are learning to drive and getting their drivers’ licenses. This program doesn’t teach kids to drive. Instead, it focuses on decision-making skills. Students are exposed to the real consequences of impaired or distracted driving, including visits to the ICU and meetings with people who have lost family members in car crashes. 

But Gardner, director of Sudden Impact, is quick to point out that this program is not about using scare tactics. “We are using medical subject matter to present a different perspective on driving impaired. We want to inform these students that the consequences of their actions when they get behind the wheel of a vehicle are real.” 

Caillouet added that Sudden Impact offers University Medical Center a powerful way to connect directly with a vulnerable population: young and inexperienced drivers. “Our goal is to help them understand how a single decision behind the wheel can have life-altering consequences,” she said. 

While these conversations may not always “click” immediately for the students who go through the program, the lessons tend to stay with students as they gain more driving experience and face real-world driving situations. Gardner and Clesi said, indeed, Sudden Impact attendees often approach them years after they’ve been through the program to say how much of an effect it truly had on them. 

The data supports the effort. Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for teens. Students ages 16 to 20 are four times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than other age groups. 

After completing the program, 96% of participants commit to not driving impaired or riding with an impaired driver, Clesi said. 

The program operates twice a week, reaches more than 100 schools, and is hosted across multiple hospitals in Louisiana. 

Child passenger safety and community training 

University Medical Center also leads statewide efforts through the Louisiana Passenger Safety Task Force. The focus is proper car seat use and installation. 

“Misuse rates are high,” said Gardner, who is also program director for the Louisiana Passenger Safety Task Force (LPSTF). She, along with Clesi, runs a local car seat “fitting station” every Wednesday. “In some areas, up to 90 percent of car seats are used incorrectly.” 

Michael Toups, state coordinator for the car seat program, oversees 115 fitting stations and more than 600 certified technicians across Louisiana. He also manages the program’s federal grant.  

“As the statistics show, 9 out of 10 car seats are incorrectly installed,” Toups said. “Our program affords us the opportunity to bridge that gap with education and hands-on experience. Knowing children are safer when they leave a fitting station and would confidently survive a crash is our ‘why.’” 

The work is grounded in experience. Toups spent years investigating fatal and serious injury crashes. 

“I grew weary of making death notifications or seeing the family’s pain when something as simple as a seat belt or car seat could have literally made the difference between life and death,” he said. 

The program trains certified technicians who provide hands-on support to families. Services include installation checks, education, and community classes. The impact is measurable and personal. Toups recalled a case following a community event. 

“A mother told us she made adjustments to her child’s seat after listening to our technicians. The next day she was in a significant crash. Her child walked away unharmed. She said without those changes, they may not have survived,” Toups recalled. 

The work has also driven policy change. In 2019, the team helped rewrite Louisiana law using national best practices from the American Academy of Pediatrics, creating what has been described as one of the strongest child passenger safety laws in the country. 

Extending safety to older drivers 

Trauma prevention does not stop with young drivers. University Medical Center also runs CarFit programs for older adults. 

CarFit sessions help seniors adjust their vehicles to optimize their safety as well as make suggestions for aftermarket devices that can make older drivers feel more confident behind the wheel. 

“We have to make sure they understand we aren’t looking to take their keys away but help them drive longer,” said Clesi. 

Stop the bleed and emergency response 

University Medical Center trains the public in hemorrhage control through Stop the Bleed, a program led by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. These programs prepare individuals to act in the first minutes after an injury, before emergency services arrive. 

Response time matters. EMS arrival can take several minutes. Immediate action can determine survival. 

Training includes hands-on practice and access to bleeding control kits placed alongside automated external defibrillators in public spaces. 

Prevention over treatment 

University Medical Center’s trauma team sees the long-term impact of injury every day. That perspective shapes how they measure success. 

“We do trauma best as a Level 1 trauma center when we have to. We much prefer someone to wear a helmet, drive sober, not fall off a ladder and wear a seatbelt,” said Gardner. 

She added a broader point. “Very few people admitted to the trauma ICU for severe injuries following a traumatic event will ever reach their pre-crash state, as the physical, mental, emotional, and financial costs remain for a lifetime.  Trauma is a young person’s disease; therefore the victim and families live through the changed conditions for decades to come.” 

The trauma department at University Medical Center New Orleans operates on a simple principle: The best trauma care is the care that is never needed. 

Through education, community partnerships, and targeted programs, the team works to reduce risk before injury occurs. 

National Trauma Awareness Month reinforces that message. Prevention is not secondary to care. It is the first and most effective intervention.