Latenser was speaking as director of the Burn Treatment Center at UI Hospitals and Clinics—one of the nation's largest and busiest burn treatment centers—and as chair of the Midwestern Region Burn Conference hosted by The University of Iowa.

"Patients who were burned in the attack went to burn centers in Washington and New York City," she says. "If everyone had survived the Twin Tower attacks, there would not have been enough burn beds in the country to handle all the patients."

In fact, there are only 1,500 burn beds in the entire United States, with a population of more than 300 million people.

"Burn centers are a regional resource," she explains. "It takes a big institutional commitment to have a verified burn center, and not as many physicians go into burn care."

Good strides have been made in disaster management, but significant challenges remain, Latenser says. That's one reason the Midwestern Region Burn Conference was so important—it brought together burn experts who could meet face-to-face and promote better collaboration.

"They know it's a matter of when something terrible happens, not if," Latenser says. "This is something the American Burn Association has been trying to do for a long time, but there are so few burn centers and burn beds."

UI Hospitals and Clinics was an ideal host site for the conference, not only because it showcased a leading burn care program but also because it could contribute to better burn care in the long run.

"I think we set the bar high," says Latenser, who chaired the two-day meeting and played a pivotal role in organizing the conference. The conference agenda attracted 141 attendees from 14 different states, including California, Oregon, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee.

"We didn't just focus on burns," Latenser says. "We had a broad range of topics including infections, disease, psychiatry, sex and sexuality for the patient who is burned or their body is different, management strategies, and cost-savings for wound care."

One outcome: the Director of DeGowin Blood Center at UI Hospitals and Clinics has agreed to coordinate a Midwest tissue bank for disaster preparedness, in partnership with Cook County in Chicago.

Another outcome: thanks to Latenser's efforts, the American Burn Association created an "official" Midwestern Burn Region that includes 19 burn centers, nine states, 600,000 square miles, and 38 million covered lives. During the conference, American Burn Association President David Greenhalgh, MD, appointed Latenser the first Chair of the Midwestern Burn Region.

The region has a diversity of burn center capabilities. The UI Burn Treatment Center serves patients from Missouri and Illinois in addition to Iowa, while North Dakota and South Dakota, with no burn centers, send their patients to Minnesota and Nebraska, respectively.

"This reinforced the importance of regional collaboration," Latenser says, noting that the UI Burn Treatment Center is the only burn center in Iowa verified by the American Burn Association and the American College of Surgeons, and one of only 50 verified in the United States.

"We have 16 burn beds; the average is seven," she says. "We are in the top 10 burn centers in terms of volume."

Barbara Latenser, MD

For more information:

Burn Treatment Center

DeGowin Blood Center

American Burn Association

American College of Surgeons