page_title: R Adams Cowley
section_title: Titles
hierarchical_section_title: R Adams Cowley / Titles
caption_attribution_description: English: Dr. R Adams Cowley instructs his team in the Critical Care Resuscitation Unit (CCRU).
context_page_description: R Adams Cowley was an American surgeon considered a pioneer in emergency medicine and the treatment of shock trauma. Called the "Father of Trauma Medicine", he was the founder of the United States' first trauma center at the University of Maryland in 1958, after the US Army awarded him $100,000 to study shock in people—the first award of its kind in the United States. The trauma unit at first consisted of two beds, and was later expanded to four beds. Many people called the four-bed unit the "death lab." Cowley was the creator of the "Golden Hour" concept, the period of 60 minutes or less following injury when immediate definitive care is crucial to a trauma patient's survival. He was a leader in the use of helicopters for medical evacuations of civilians, beginning in 1969, and founded the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. He also founded the nation's first statewide EMS system, called MIEMSS by Executive Order of Maryland's Governor Mandel, 1972, as well as the National Study Center for Trauma and EMS, enacted by Congress in 1986 and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.
context_section_description: Professor of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery, University Of Maryland, School of Medicine
  Clinical Professor of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University
  Founder/First Director  Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems
  Director, Charles McC. Mathias, Jr., National Study Center for Trauma & Emergency Medicine Approved by US Senate and House and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.
caption: R Adams Cowley instructs his team in the Critical Care Resuscitation Unit
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