Arizona’s trauma system becomes model for S. Korea
Apr 1, 2013, 11:39 AM | Updated: 11:41 am
PHOENIX — The three-day Korea-Arizona Trauma Summit kicked off Monday at Maricopa Medical Center.
Almost three dozen South Korean physicians and government officials are part of a delegation studying Arizona’s trauma systems.
South Korea hopes to blueprint its first national trauma system after Arizona’s.
The visit was planned long before the tensions started rising between North and South Korea and the doctors were unwilling to address that.
Dr. Yeong Kim explained the visit.
“We need the type of trauma system that Arizona has. Very advanced, highly experienced trauma care system”
He singled out the doctors at University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson as a textbook example of why they’ve come to Arizona.
Doctors there saved the life of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords after she was shot in January 2011.
South Korea will spend $2 billion on everything from ambulances to hospitals over the next 2-5 years to build their trauma system.
