Trauma Survivors Network: how does it really work?

Trauma centers have the important task of navigating a patient through the complex process of obtaining services and tools for success and addressing important social determinants / drivers of health. This summary from the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) Prevention and Geriatric Committees focuses on the history, development, and patient empowerment of the Trauma Survivors Network (TSN), its importance in collaboration with palliative care teams, and the value of Trauma-informed Care. Palliative Care and Trauma-iInformed Care are principles thought to be important enough to include in the upcoming updated Advanced Trauma Life Support 11th edition course as stand-alone chapters. This publication provides a history of the TSN and how it developed from the grass roots, the core elements of the TSN, a patient experience with the program, a basic toolkit on implementation of the TSN, and the importance of the TSN working together with palliative care. It was presented as a lunch session at the AAST's 83rd Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, 2024. None of the authors have any financial relationships or conflicts of interest to any of the products discussed.