Trauma survivors are celebrated at Trident Medical Center

The spotlight shined on survivors and first responders at Trident Medical Center’s 2025 Trauma Survivors Celebration.  The event’s theme, “I have a story” set the perfect tone. As each survivor spoke from the podium it became clear their comments were going to be much more than a recounting of the accidents that nearly claimed their lives. “Thank you!” and “God bless you!” were common phrases spoken, often as speakers wiped tears of thanks from their eyes, to the paramedics and trauma doctors and nurses who helped in the critical time immediately following each accident.

Trident Health President and Trident Medical Center Jeff Wilson told guests, “Last year, Trident trauma specialists provided emergency care to nearly 3,000 trauma patients. And, since our designation at a Level ll Trauma Center in 2015, we have care for more than 12,000 patients needing trauma care.”

Wilson added, “That’s just part of our story.  Our parent company, HCA Healthcare, is the nation’s leading provider of trauma services. Trident Medical Center’s trauma program is one of 105 HCA trauma centers in the United States. In those centers, more than 175,000 patients received care by a team of trauma specialists last year.”

Trauma surgeon Seon Jones, MD, the medical director of Trident’s trauma program said, “The national network of HCA trauma centers benefits the work we do here in the Charleston, SC region.  The network yields invaluable data that’s shared with state trauma agencies; the National Trauma Data Repository; and the American College of Surgeons.  These collaborations help drive valuable research and raise the bar of quality care.”

The event included a moment of silence for those who lost their lives due to a trauma and concluded with a butterfly release on the hospital’s helipad.