Forbes Regional Hospital Hires Trauma Medical Director

Dr. Christoph Kaufmann has been named the new Medical Director of Trauma Services at Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville.

Forbes announced earlier this year its intention to pursue a Level II trauma designation from the state.

Prior to joining Forbes Regional, Kaufmann was the Medical Director of Trauma, Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery at Johnson City Medical Center in Johnson City, TN. During this time, he also held an appointment as a Professor of Surgery at East Tennessee State University.

Kaufmann retired from the US Army in 2002 as a Colonel in the Medical Corps.

He attended medical school at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD, and completed his surgical residency training at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, HI. He earned his Masters of Public Health from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, while completing his clinical fellowship in Trauma and Critical Care at Harborview Medical Center.

“There is definitely a need for a trauma center in Pittsburgh’s eastern suburbs,” Kaufmann said. 

Individuals injured in rural areas of our nation are twice as likely to die when compared to people injured in urban areas, largely related to trauma center proximity. While Monroeville is not considered rural, Kaufmann points to the isolation of Monroeville on this side of Pittsburgh and the trip that ambulances have to make into the city to reach the closest trauma center, particularly when frequent inclement weather prevents helicopter transport.

“This center will hugely benefit the trauma patients in our community and surrounding areas,” he said.

As the medical director of the trauma program at Forbes, Kaufmann is tasked with building the program from the ground up. As a Level II Trauma Center, Forbes Regional will provide multidisciplinary treatment and specialized resources for trauma patients. This includes having a trauma surgeon on site 24/7, an operating room immediately available at all times for trauma cases, dedicated neurosurgery and orthopaedic surgeons on call, and the availability of the full spectrum of medical and surgical subspecialists.

While there are many challenges involved in getting such a complex program off the ground, Kaufmann said a local trauma center is absolutely necessary for our community and the surrounding region.

“Currently, bad weather rush hour transport for eastern suburb trauma patients needing trauma center care can exceed the ‘Golden Hour’ that defines survival from severe trauma," he said. "Soon, all these life-saving services will be available at Forbes Regional Hospital.”

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