SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) -
On Wednesday, Memorial University Medical Center, the only level one trauma center within 150 miles, announced a major initiative to prevent life threatening injuries in rural areas.
Dr. Gage Ochsner, the chief of Trauma Services an Surgical Critical Care, will be heading up the new Institute for Injury Research and Prevention.
2,700 people are treated for devastating injuries at Memorial every year, but most of those injuries are preventable. Plans for the institute are moving forward while the funding gets worked out.
"We don't get the funds we need so we had to really look rather than try to figure out a way to pay for it. We turned to philanthropy. I'm just not going to wait for the state. We have opportunities in our region to make a difference. If we can get it through philanthropy, we can get this institute up and running. We could have an impact not only in our region but we could actually gather data that may help the state," said Ochsner.
It will cost about $1 million to launch the new institute. Half of that has been raised through gifts to the Memorial Health Foundation. The institute should be up and running by the middle of next year.
Copyright 2012 WTOC. All rights reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WTOC, a Raycom Media Station.
