Trauma Survivors Network: history and evolution of a program empowering survivors and families impacted by traumatic injury

Abstract

The Trauma Survivors Network (TSN), a program of the American Trauma Society (ATS), has a unique history spanning decades with a vision to continue expanding and strengthening services to support survivors and families impacted by traumatic injury. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the ATS has adapted TSN services to provide both virtual and in-person services for trauma survivors, increasing equity and inclusion for many survivors to access TSN services for the first time. The recent policy changes in the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma New Standards for Care of the Injured Patient provide an impetus for the TSN to grow and expand services in support of a diverse group of trauma survivors and their loved ones. This paper highlights the collateral impact of traumatic injury, the history and ongoing growth of the TSN and its services to date, the challenges encountered in establishing and maintaining the TSN program, and the equity and inclusion that the TSN offers internationally to support a diverse range of survivors with various forms of trauma and polytrauma.