The Golden Hour
"There is a golden hour between life and death."
In the early 1980s, R. Adam Cowley, a U.S. military surgeon popularized the term "golden hour," words often used in trauma and emergency medicine settings. The term's origins lie in photography and reference the first hour of light after the sun rises and the last hour of light before sunset. That concept of a critical window of perfect sunlight was co-opted by emergency medical providers to refer to the crucial period of time immediately after an injury when appropriate life-saving medical or surgical intervention can offer the highest chance of survival for a traumatically injured patient.
Lives on the Line:
Hawaii’s Trauma Center Crisis
Big Island residents face a critical gap in trauma care, relying on outdated facilities and a Level I Trauma Center over an hour away by helicopter on Oahu. Rhonda DePontes Freedman’s story highlights the human cost of this crisis. In trauma cases, the 'Golden Hour'—the first hour after injury—is crucial for survival, yet Big Island has no facility equipped to handle severe trauma locally.
While $18 million in upgrades went to Kona Community Hospital last year, none of it went toward establishing a Level I Trauma Center. In Hawaii, we have the resources to protect our community, but without local immediate care and the proper resources, the lives of our kamaʻāina, our kupuna, our keikis, and our ‘ohanas are at risk. Watch, share, and stand with us to advocate for trauma care that will serve more of Hawaii, not just one island.