Further, the network has two research fellowship training grants in review by the NIH and the Emergency Medicine Foundation to conduct a prospective validation study of an instrument to predict multiple organ failure in trauma patients (three WESTRN sites; principal investigator: Jody Vogel, mentor: Jason Haukoos, Denver Health).

Finally, the network is gathering pilot data to support another federal grant to study the effects of methamphetamine use on congestive heart failure (principal investigator: Deborah B. Diercks, UC Davis).

WESTRN serves as a flexible confederation of sites for studying multiple potential content domains within emergency care. The flexible configuration of the network allows for different sites to serve as the data coordinating center, depending on the study. Current projects include work in the health services, trauma care, EMS, pediatric injury care, and toxicology fields.

To date, the network has focused on community-based translational research and collaborations for emergency care research both within and between CTSA institutions. We are seeking further collaboration with each of our CTSAs to continue introducing emergency research to CTSA leaders, to better facilitate collaboration, and to utilize CTSA resources and infrastructure in a way that promotes the science of emergency care, while also benefiting CTSAs.

We hope these efforts demonstrate the energy, grassroots organization, motivation, and determination of emergency care investigators, as well as the many synergistic translational research opportunities between emergency care, CTSAs, the NIH, and other federal funders.

Dr. Newgard is an associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and is director of the Center for Policy and Research in Emergency Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, Portland.