Jackson Health System's 2013 Report to the Community.
A Cool Miracle For Spinal Cord Injuries
Champion gymnast Jorge Valdes was practicing for a Cirque du Soleil audition when he landed on his head. Unable to feel his legs and chest, the 21-year-old was airlifted to Ryder. The trauma team administered hypothermia treatment, cooling his body to reduce swelling on his spinal cord. A week after surgery and treatment at Ryder, Jorge walked out of the hospital. He's now fully recovered and continuing to pursue his goals.
Since 1992, the doctors, nurses and staff at Ryder Trauma Center have been saving the lives of people with critical injuries. Ryder is the only adult and pediatric Level I trauma center in Miami-Dade County, which means it provides the highest level of trauma care possible. It also means that when someone is seriously hurt, the only place to go is Ryder.
The trauma team at Ryder sees patients with injuries unimaginable to most of us. It's why the U.S. Department of Defense selected the center as the only surgical facility up to the task of training its military surgeons. For more than a decade, the U.S. Army's forward surgical teams have trained at Ryder before deployment to war zones. And now the U.S. Air Force has joined them as well.
Ryder also conducts specialized education and training, extensive injury research, clinical trials, and telemedicine programs to share life-saving techniques with hospitals worldwide. This expertise is what makes Ryder the most experienced trauma center in South Florida.