Opinion: A surge in border wall deaths and injuries has stressed San Diego County's trauma system [Opinion]
., is medical director of Acute Care Surgery at UC San Diego Health. She lives in San Diego.
Nora Vargas, Pedro Rios and Dr. Amy E. Liepert write about a surge in deaths and injuries from immigrants scaling and falling off a taller border wall. Trauma centers accredited by the American College of Surgeons are critical life-saving systems for the most severely injured patients facing a high likelihood of death or disability. Patients include victims of high-speed motor vehicle crashes, gunshot wounds, stabbings — and falls from heights greater than 12 feet. These patients are immediately evaluated at designated centers by trauma surgeons with special training in recognizing and treating complex, multi-system injuries.
This border crisis has further burdened an already-overstressed health-care system struggling to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional capacity and associated costs were not accounted for in the federally appropriated funds to reinforce and heighten the border barrier system. Hospital costs for injured immigrants at UC San Diego Health alone are estimated to be approximately $13 million between 2019-2021.
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