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| USC Department of Emergency Medicine | |
|---|---|
| Name | USC Department of Emergency Medicine |
| Type | Academic department |
| Founded | 1970s |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Affiliations | University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center |
USC Department of Emergency Medicine The USC Department of Emergency Medicine is an academic and clinical unit of the University of Southern California and the Keck School of Medicine of USC that provides emergency care, medical education, and research in the Los Angeles region. The department partners with municipal and federal partners including Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center, and collaborates with regional institutions such as Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Harbor–UCLA Medical Center to deliver acute care across adult, pediatric, and trauma populations. It integrates clinical service, residency training, and investigation in areas intersecting with public health events like the 1994 Northridge earthquake and health policy initiatives such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Founded amid the expansion of emergency medicine as a specialty in the 1970s and 1980s, the department developed alongside national trends exemplified by organizations like the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. Early collaborations with Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center and regional trauma systems mirrored national responses to major incidents such as the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s the department expanded fellowship programs inspired by leaders from institutions like Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. Post-2000 growth included integration of disaster medicine curricula influenced by events including the Hurricane Katrina response and federal preparedness frameworks such as the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
The department is administratively situated within the Keck School of Medicine of USC and collaborates with the University of Southern California Keck Medicine enterprise. Leadership has included chairs and division chiefs with prior roles at centers like Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, and University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Governance features clinical chiefs for adult emergency care, pediatric emergency medicine, disaster medicine, and EMS medicine, mirroring structures used by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention partners and the National Institutes of Health. The department works with hospital administrators from institutions such as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and public agencies including the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
Clinical operations span multiple sites including Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center, regional affiliates such as Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, and specialty partners like Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Services cover adult emergency medicine, pediatric emergency medicine, toxicology, hyperbaric medicine collaborations with institutions like United States Navy hyperbaric programs, and trauma care integrated into the American College of Surgeons verification systems. The department supports emergency psychiatric liaison services paralleling models at Mount Sinai Hospital (New York) and operates ambulance and prehospital medicine programs coordinating with Los Angeles Fire Department and regional EMS agencies. Facilities include dedicated resuscitation bays, negative-pressure isolation rooms informed by lessons from the 2003 SARS outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Education centers on an ACGME-accredited emergency medicine residency that recruits graduates from medical schools including University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, and Duke University School of Medicine. Fellowship programs include fellowships in pediatric emergency medicine, critical care emergency medicine, disaster medicine, and EMS, modeled after curricula at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and UCSF Medical Center. Didactic offerings incorporate simulation-based training similar to programs at Laerdal Medical partner centers and board preparation aligned with the American Board of Emergency Medicine. The department hosts grand rounds, continuing medical education activities, and interprofessional courses with partners such as Los Angeles County Fire Department and regional nursing schools including UCLA School of Nursing.
Research priorities include acute care delivery, injury prevention, toxicology, resuscitation science, health services research, and disaster response, with funding streams from agencies like the National Institutes of Health, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and private foundations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Investigators collaborate on multicenter trials with networks including the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Awards consortium and research partners at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and RAND Corporation. Innovation efforts span telemedicine platforms deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic, machine learning projects informed by datasets used at Mayo Clinic and device trials conducted in partnership with industry partners resembling collaborations at Stanford Biodesign.
Outreach programs include injury prevention campaigns, disaster preparedness training for underserved communities, and coordination with agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The department has participated in mass-casualty drills involving stakeholders like Los Angeles International Airport emergency planners and law enforcement agencies including the Los Angeles Police Department. Community initiatives partner with nonprofits like American Red Cross and local organizations such as LA Care to expand access and resilience in neighborhoods affected by wildfires, earthquakes, and public health emergencies.
Faculty and alumni have included leaders who held roles at national organizations like the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and advisory positions with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alumni have assumed chair positions at institutions such as University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, and Emory University School of Medicine. Faculty contributions include authorship in journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and Annals of Emergency Medicine, and participation in national guideline panels alongside experts from World Health Organization working groups.