When tragedy struck, and Emily Hammond, BSN, RN-BC, trauma research coordinator, Parkview Health, suffered life-threatening injuries from a motor vehicle accident, everything changed, including her career path.
“Emily was involved in a pretty severe car accident, and she received a lot of pre-hospital care that included tourniquets and different interventions that were provided by the first responders,” Dr. William Beck, adult trauma medical director, Parkview Health, said. “Then she was brought to Parkview and met by the trauma team.”
Among other issues, Emily was suffering from low blood pressure, major vascular injuries to her lower extremities, collapsed lungs on both sides and cervical fractures. After she was stabilized, then she went to the intensive care unit (ICU) where she was evaluated by vascular surgeons, neurosurgeons and interventional neurology, and orthopedic surgeons.
“In real time, you're coming up with a game plan,” Dr. Beck said. “In what order do we have to address these injuries, one, to save her life, two, to save her limbs, and three, to provide the best possible outcome for her.”
Cases like these often involve difficult decisions and when the choice came down to life or limb, Emily’s family gave her care team the green light to amputate her leg to save her.
“There's a reason that I did not die that day,” Emily said. “And I think a lot of that is to help others.”
Opportunity arises
“As I was nearing a return to work, something popped up that said trauma research coordinator. I knew research. I didn't know trauma, but I'd been through a trauma. So, I decided to go for it."
When her application came across the desk of Sarah Hoeppner, adult trauma program manager, Parkview Health, something seemed familiar. “The name kept ringing a bell,” Sarah said. “We set up our interview. She interviewed great, and towards the end she goes, ‘Well, I was one of your trauma patients.’ And instantly, her whole story flooded back to me, and I knew who she was and what she had gone through.”
It only made sense to leverage Emily’s personal experience to better understand the needs of Parkview patients going through similar scenarios.
Providing the best trauma care
“Parkview was the first Level II trauma center in Indiana and the first trauma center outside of Indianapolis. In 2025, we celebrated 25 years as a trauma program.”
All involved agree that northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio deserve the best in trauma care.
“For years now, even as a Level II hospital, which is not a requirement, we've had in-house trauma surgeons. 24/7, 365,” Dr. Beck said. “Part of being a Level I trauma center is a demonstration to the community that this facility has all of the experts that you need to take care of somebody who's involved in an accident, really regardless of whatever it is, at all times.”
The biggest difference between a Level II trauma center and a Level I trauma center is a center's dedication to resident support and education. “We want our community to have the most trained physicians, and we want to be able to put Parkview on the map for innovative trauma care,” Sarah said.
For Emily’s part, she ensures that the team has everything it needs from a research perspective as it continues to advance. “I've been working with the research scientists and all different specialties, including trauma, to come up with ideas to help trauma patients. We work on making sure we have all the research points we need to get to Level I.”
An invaluable perspective
“Emily has to deal with these injuries and these changes in her lifestyle 24 hours a day, but I think that she helps the rest of us understand what that's like and the challenges folks face because then she can tell us about them,” Dr. Beck said.
Sarah couldn’t agree more. “As I've gotten to know Emily, I have talked to her about all of the highs and lows and the things that nobody talks about after they go home. She's really helping us in our trauma department, and we continue to learn from her every day.”
And she’s happy to do so. “I just want to keep this going and help everyone in whatever that means, whether it's figuring out what happened in your accident to help you heal,” Emily said. “Refreshing others helps refresh yourself, and that's what I'm here to do in whatever capacity I can.”
