Rural Trauma: Access, Resources, and the Road Ahead

In this episode of the AAST Cutting Edge Podcast, host Dr. Caroline Park is joined by co-moderator Dr. Jeremy Levin and guests Dr. Alexandra Briggs and Dr. Miloš Buhavac to examine the rural trauma landscape, from the inconsistent definitions of "rural" to the resource gaps, transfer challenges, and workforce shortages that shape outcomes for patients far from major trauma centers. The episode opens with a clinical scenario: a critically injured patient at a Level III center awaiting transfer, raising immediate questions about transport time, available resources, and what Level I centers can realistically expect from their rural counterparts.

The panel discusses the uneven proliferation of trauma centers across the country, teletrauma as a tool for bridging expertise gaps and reducing non-therapeutic transfers, and the promise of geospatial data in planning smarter trauma systems for the future. Practical pathways for engagement, including the ACS Resource Variable Trauma Team Development Course (RTTDC) and regional advisory committees, are highlighted as ways trauma surgeons can better understand and support their referring facilities. The episode makes clear that sustaining rural trauma care requires not just placing surgeons in underserved areas, but building the systems, technology, and data infrastructure around them.