The Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery is committed to caring for the severely injured from across the state of Alabama and neighboring regions. UAB Hospital has been an American College of Surgeons-verified Level I Trauma Center since 1999 and has robust resources that include 24-hour in-house trauma team coverage and access to specialists in the departments of Surgery, Neurosurgery, Orthopaedics, Otolaryngology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Urology, Emergency Medicine, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Together with regional and statewide EMS programs, the division provides a comprehensive multidisciplinary program of care for severely injured multisystem trauma or burn patients.
As of 2026, the division evaluates over 7,000 patients annually (more than one-third of all trauma patients in the state of Alabama). The Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery is made up of the following sections that provide specialized care:
- Trauma Service: UAB is ready 24/7/365 to provide lifesaving care to trauma patients, including initial resuscitation and surgical intervention for those with life threatening injury
- Emergency General Surgery Service: The division’s trauma surgeons are all equipped to handle any acute care surgery case that comes to UAB, like appendicitis or intestinal obstructions.
- Surgical Critical Care Service: The division’s critical care footprint includes caring for patients in the Trauma Burn Intensive Care Unit, the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit, and the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, totaling approximately 50 beds of critical care coverage.
- Burn Service: The Burn Center at UAB is made up of burn surgeons, trauma surgeons, and a nursing team that is specialized in the treatment of burns, and provides innovative burn treatments like hydrotherapy, hyperbaric therapy, and laser therapy.
- Inpatient Wound Care Service: Provides comprehensive wound care evaluation and treatment for all wounds. Also leads hospital acquired wound prevention strategies and educational programs for nurses on wound care.
- Section of Military Medicine: UAB is home to a 20-year military-civilian partnership with the U.S. Air Force. Active-duty Air Force personnel are embedded in the UAB trauma team as surgeons, emergency physicians, anesthesiologists, critical care nurses, respiratory care practitioners, and operating room technicians. Active-duty surgeons, pararescuemen, and medics also train at UAB.