Newswise — A leading expert in trauma and critical care surgery has joined UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) to head a newly assembled team of highly-skilled acute care surgeons. Vicente H. Gracias, MD, professor of surgery and chief of Trauma/Surgical Critical Care at the medical school, and director of the Level I Trauma Center at RWJUH, will lead a group that includes surgeons, nurses, case managers and staff specializing in trauma and critical care surgery. The trauma team will provide New Jersey residents with immediate, expert care during unanticipated emergencies that require skilled surgical intervention.
Trauma/critical care surgeons, also called acute care surgeons, are trained in a broad scope of different organ systems, enabling them to make a quick, concise assessment of a patient’s condition and swiftly implement a surgical treatment plan. Through the use of advanced techniques and cutting-edge technology, the surgeon’s goal is to improve the probability of survival and quality of life for severely injured and critically-ill patients.
“The foundation of care at Robert Wood Johnson is phenomenal,” said Dr. Gracias. “The trauma/critical care team will build on that to ensure that everyone is taken care of from presentation of the emergency through operative procedures and post-operative treatment.”
Prior to joining Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Dr. Gracias served as associate professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (Penn), and chief and medical director of surgical critical care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He also served as an instructor of surgery at Penn and was director of the medical sonogram implementation program.
Fellowship trained and board certified in general surgery, trauma surgery and surgical critical care, Dr. Gracias is a clinician-scientist whose funded research and clinical expertise focus on penetrating cervical (neck) trauma and hemodynamic (blood flow) monitoring. He has published extensively and lectured internationally on these specialty areas of acute care, as well as on sepsis, shock, pulmonary function and resuscitation in complex trauma cases.
A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind., Dr. Gracias earned his medical degree at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, and completed his residency in surgery at Metro Group Hospitals, University of Illinois in Chicago. He completed a research fellowship at the University of Illinois and a fellowship in trauma and surgical critical care at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia.
RWJUH is one of only three level one trauma centers designated by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. A Level I Trauma Center is the highest designation a hospital can receive. Dr. Gracias’ team includes medical professionals specially trained in treating trauma and critical care injuries, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The team features four trauma surgeons, an emergency medicine physician, trauma nurses and personnel from radiology, blood bank, case management and others. Physicians in specialties ranging from neurosurgery to OB/GYN are on standby, and nursing teams are ready in the operating room and critical care unit are available.
The trauma/critical care surgery team that Dr. Gracias has brought together includes Meredith Tinti, MD, assistant professor of surgery, who has been at Robert Wood Johnson since 2006 and completed her residency and fellowship training at Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, Pa.; Adam Shiroff, MD, assistant professor of surgery, who trained at Penn Medicine under Dr. Gracias as a resident and fellow; and Hesam Ahmed, MD, assistant professor of surgery who completed his residency and fellowship training at the Medical College of Virginia. The surgeons are all physicians of The Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Group, the school’s multi-disciplinary faculty practice with approximately 500 physicians encompassing more than 200 sub-specialties who have privileges at RWJUH.
In addition to treating the seriously injured, RWJUH is a leader in educating other health care professionals about the latest advances in trauma care. Trauma Center staff regularly offer programs for emergency medical technicians, paramedics, nurses and physicians. The Center’s Injury Prevention Program also offers a wide range of community-based educational programs to teach individuals innovative ways to prevent injuries and reduce risk factors that may lead to them.
Through the partnership of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, expert physicians have the significant resources of an academic medical center to ensure patients benefit from a comprehensive treatment program beginning with diagnosis to the completion of rehabilitation.
UMDNJ-ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL
As one of the nation’s leading comprehensive medical schools, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. In cooperation with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school’s principal affiliate, they comprise New Jersey’s premier academic medical center. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 other hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region.
As one of the eight schools of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey with 2,800 full-time and volunteer faculty, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 22 basic science and clinical departments, hosts centers and institutes including The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The medical school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels for more than 1,500 students on its campuses in New Brunswick, Piscataway, and Camden, and provides continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education programs. To learn more about UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, log on to rwjms.umdnj.edu. Find our fan page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @UMDNJ_RWJMS.
ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) is a 600-bed academic medical center and the principal hospital of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. Robert Wood Johnson is an innovative leader in advancing state-of-the-art care. RWJUH is the first hospital in the nation to implant the AbioCor self-contained artificial heart since the device received FDA approval in 2006. RWJUH is one of only three sites in the nation approved to offer this groundbreaking technology. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, and women’s and children’s care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). The hospital is also a Level 1 Trauma Center and serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness. The hospital has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for heart and heart surgery (No. 36), cancer (No. 40) respiratory disorders (No. 50), according to U.S.News & World Report’s 2009 ranking of “America’s Best Hospitals.” The American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer has rated RWJUH among the nation's best comprehensive cancer centers. The Leapfrog Group rated RWJUH as one of the 50 exceptional U.S. hospitals, as published in Consumers Digest magazine. Harvard University researchers, in a study commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund, identified RWJUH as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation for clinical quality. RWJUH is also a recipient of the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence for more than 10 consecutive years. Visit us online at www.rwjuh.edu.
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