R Adams Cowley
R Adams Cowley | |
|---|---|
Cowley in 1977 | |
| Born | July 25, 1917 Layton, Utah, US |
| Died | October 27, 1991 (aged 74) |
| Education | University of Utah University of Maryland |
| Years active | 1951—1991 |
| Known for | Establishing the first trauma center in the US; the Golden Hour concept |
| Spouse(s) |
Marjorie Smith
(m. 1936; div. 1960)Roberta Schwartz (m. 1985) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Spencer Adams (uncle) |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Surgeon |
| Field | Medicine |
| Sub-specialties | Emergency medicine, cardiovascular/thoracic medicine |
R Adams Cowley (July 25, 1917, Layton, Utah—October 27, 1991, Baltimore, Maryland) was an American traumatologist and surgeon who is considered a pioneer in emergency medicine and the treatment of life-threatening shock following severe traumatic injury. Called the "father of modern trauma medicine", Cowley first observed what he later called the "Golden Hour" while working as a war surgeon in post-World War II Europe. He noticed that trauma patients who were treated immediately and aggressively had a better chance of survival, especially when the doctors and nurses were specially trained in trauma medicine, than those whose treatment was slow or delayed.
This observation eventually led him to found the Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Hospital in 1962 with a grant from the US Army. When it was established, about 40% of critically injured accident victims survived; by the time he retired in 1989, that percentage had increased to 90%. The Maryland Institute for Emergency Medicine (later the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, or MIEMSS) grew from the trauma center in the early 1970s and made Maryland the first in the nation to have a statewide EMS system. A 1986 study showed that Maryland had an accident survival rate 2.5 times higher than the national average. The Shock Trauma Center was a model for trauma units, which spread across the country as the impact became clear, numbering 165 centers by 1985.
In addition to the Shock Trauma Center and MIEMSS, Cowley pioneered emergency medicine as its own area of study, the use of helicopters to quickly transport accident victims to the hospital best suited to treat them, and the concept of trauma as a disease. He was a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon and was one of the first to perform open-heart surgery, and was head and professor of the Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the University of Maryland. He also contributed to research in hyperbaric oxygen treatment, blood composition theory, and medical devices.