UT Tyler Professor Collaborates with UT Partners to Improve Trauma Care

May 29, 2024 | Elizabeth Wingfield

Dr. Alan Cook, The University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine Trauma Research and Center for Clinical Research medical director, is collaborating with UT San Antonio and UT Health San Antonio to improve trauma care. The collaboration is funded by a $1 million grant from the Trauma Research and Combat Casualty Care Collaborative, a UT System initiative.

While patients have over a 97% chance of surviving trauma if taken to a trauma center, the goal of the project is to assess what happens before and after their hospital stay. Especially in Texas, where 52% of the counties are rural, transport to a Level 1 or 2 trauma center can take a significant amount of time.

“This collaboration represents a significant opportunity to leverage data to enhance trauma care across Texas,” said Cook. “Our ultimate goal is to ensure that all trauma patients receive the best possible care, regardless of their location.”

Cook’s contribution to the project will be developing databases and analyzing the data. Another team will assess the data with artificial intelligence to determine if emergency medical transportation should stop at a hospital for basic stabilization before arriving at a trauma center.

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to nearly 10,000 students. Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.