Internationally Recognized Trauma Surgeon Joins RUHS Medical

From the County of Riverside: World renowned trauma surgeon, Dr. Raul Coimbra, has joined Riverside University Health System Medical Center as surgeon in chief, hospital officials announced.

Coimbra’s academic and scientific experience will be instrumental in expanding the hospital’s regional leadership in trauma and acute-care surgery and in improving trauma services across Riverside County, said Dr. Arnold Tabuenca, chief medical officer at RUHS Medical Center.

The 439-bed medical center in Moreno Valley is the largest and oldest teaching hospital in Riverside County and it houses one of the region’s busiest trauma centers. More than 1,700 critically injured victims from incidents such as car crashes and gunshots are admitted to the trauma center annually. The medical center also trains 800 resident physicians and medical students annually, and sponsors several medical residency programs including programs in general surgery, orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery.

“Dr. Coimbra has a broad base of experiences and tremendous expertise in trauma and acute care surgery,” Tabuenca said. “We are pleased to have him serve as an academic mentor and leader for our staff members and for new generations of doctors and nurses.”

Coimbra, 55, formerly the surgeon in chief at UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest, is well known for his activism in global health initiatives. He has long advocated for a statewide trauma-response system to serve vast swaths of California where no trauma services exist, noting that less than one in 10 hospitals nationwide has a designated trauma center. During his tenure at UCSD, Coimbra is credited with building one of the most advanced free-standing trauma centers in the country.

“We are going to take the trauma and acute care programs at RUHS Medical Center to a new level,” said Coimbra, who presides over the board of directors for the World Coalition of Trauma Care. He has authored more than 500 scientific publications in most clinical and experimental aspects of trauma medicine. Coimbra also serves on a number of national and international boards related to research, education, clinical practices and quality improvement.

“We provide better care and we see better outcomes when we put patients at the center of our decisions,” Coimbra said. “These are major goals of the leadership team at RUHS Medical Center and they are aligned with my beliefs.”

Countywide, RUHS employs a highly educated workforce of 6,300 and delivers a $1.6 billion annual direct economic impact to our region. The growing health system comprises the 439-bed Moreno Valley-based Medical Center, including a 77-bed psychiatric inpatient treatment center and psychiatric emergency room and more than 40 hospital-based clinics, along with 10 federally qualified health centers (soon to be 11), and the Behavioral Health and Public Health agencies. Last year, RUHS delivered a half-million inpatient, outpatient, and emergency/trauma visits.

Image via the County of Riverside