The centers goal is to decrease morbidity and mortality caused by trauma. Our work addresses the injury problem in our own community and region and contributes to the science of injury control. The promotion of bicycle helmets, a campaign to ban baby walkers in the United States, and advocacy for increasing the minimum age requirements for Washington's infant seat restraint laws are some of our efforts most apparent to the public, but we do much more. Alcohol is a factor in many situations involving traumatic injuries. Half of all injured patients admitted to Harborview Medical Center have recently been drinking and nearly one-third are acutely intoxicated.
Alcohol abuse is a major public health problem and the most common contributor to trauma .
Studies of the acute care of trauma patients should not ignore the effect of alcohol. Patients with chronic abuse have higher rates of mortality, complications, and infections, and, most significantly, are more likely to be readmitted for subsequent trauma . As a result, Harborview is the first trauma center in the world to make alcohol intervention a routine part of trauma care. When successful trauma care ends, rehabilitation often begins. As more patients survive serious injuries, new challenges arise is they seek the most independent and self-sufficient lives possible.