At A Mission for Michael (AMFM), we understand how trauma affects people physically, emotionally, and psychologically. That’s why our trauma care is focused on mental health. After patients are stabilized in the emergency room or trauma center, AMFM helps individuals recover from the emotional trauma following the healing of the physical injuries.
This page describes the ABCs of trauma care, what patients with trauma are treated for in the emergency room, and why they need aftercare mental health treatment for recovery.
The ABCs is a mnemonic device used in emergencies as a guide for life-saving maneuvers in the event of trauma2:
This process, which is reinforced in Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) training, enables clinicians to manage life-threatening injuries first before anything else.3 This order is sometimes reversed to C-A-B (Circulation-Airway-Breathing) if uncontrolled bleeding (exsanguinating hemorrhage) is the main threat. In these cases, the pressure or tourniquet should first be applied directly to control the bleeding.4
Airway protection is the first and most urgent step in trauma care because a blocked airway can lead to death in just a few minutes. Patients can lose their airway due to head injuries, facial trauma, swelling (edema), or from blood, vomit, or debris obstructing airflow. EMS teams are trained to respond immediately using a few key tools:
Airway management becomes even more critical—and more challenging—when children are involved. Pediatric patients have smaller, more delicate airways, making them more prone to obstruction.5
Once the airway is secured, the next step is assessing breathing. This means checking for chest rise, breath sounds, and oxygen saturation to ensure the lungs are doing their job and oxygen is reaching the body’s vital organs. Several dangerous complications can show up at this stage, including:
Treatment focuses on restoring proper breathing and oxygen flow. This may involve:
Circulation means keeping the heart pumping and making sure there’s enough blood in the body to carry oxygen where it’s needed. One of the most life-threatening issues in trauma care is hemorrhagic shock, which happens when severe blood loss causes a drop in blood pressure and starves the organs of oxygen.6 Key red flags include:
To manage circulation, trauma teams focus on:
Even if a patient’s airway and breathing are under control, failure to stabilize circulation can lead to rapid deterioration. That’s why the ABCs are followed in strict order—ensuring the most immediate threats to life are addressed quickly, clearly, and in the right sequence.
After the ABCs, trauma experts quickly assess neurological status. With the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), they determine if the patient is alert, verbal, and oriented.7 Severe head injury, brain injury, or spine trauma may require prompt interventions to prevent permanent disability.
Much trauma care begins even before the patient reaches the emergency department. EMS providers are instructed in prehospital trauma life support, which encompasses:
Rapid on-scene intervention saves lives, particularly for massive blood loss.9
While the ABCs deal with survival in the body, the mental impact of trauma is also catastrophic. Survivors will often acquire:
If not treated, these responses become PTSD, panic disorder, or psychosis. AMFM bridges this gap by offering:
ABCs of trauma are not merely a hospital protocol—they’re an even bigger standard of survival being first. As clinicians stabilize airway, breathing, and circulation, trauma survivors must perform the same healing “ABCs” for their emotional selves:
This two-step process—physical and emotional—ensures that survivors don’t just survive, but heal.
If you or a loved one has been hurt in a motor vehicle accident, assault, or medical emergency, recovery goes beyond the ER. AMFM’s Virginia trauma centers provide inpatient and outpatient trauma care near you that stabilizes, stabilizes, and empowers survivors.
Book a free consultation and insurance review by calling (844) 698-2242 today. With the right treatment plan, recovery isn’t merely possible—it’s sustainable.
What to Expect
Insurance Verification
Our team will verify if your insurance provider is in-network with an AMFM Healthcare Facility.
Contact From Admission Representative:
Expect a call within an hour from an admissions representative to discuss treatment options.
American College of Surgeons. Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS®): Student Course Manual. 10th ed. Chicago: American College of Surgeons, 2018. Brito, A. M. P., and Martin Schreiber. “x-ABC versus ABC: Shifting Paradigms in Early Trauma Resuscitation.” Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open 10, no. Suppl_1 (2025): e001773. https://tsaco.bmj.com/content/10/Suppl_1/e001773.full.pdf American Trauma Society. n.d. “Trauma Center Levels.” Accessed September 10, 2025. https://www.amtrauma.org/page/traumalevels Ferrada, Paula, et al. “Comparing Outcomes in Patients with Exsanguinating Injuries: An Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST) Multicenter, International Trial Evaluating Prioritization of Circulation Over Intubation (CAB over ABC).” World Journal of Emergency Surgery 19 (2024): Article 15. https://wjes.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13017-024-00545-8. Cooper, A., C. DiScala, G. Foltin, M. Tunik, D. Markenson, and C. Welborn. “Prehospital Endotracheal Intubation for Severe Head Injury in Children: A Reappraisal.” Seminars in Pediatric Surgery 10, no. 1 (February 2001): 3-6. https://doi.org/10.1053/spsu.2001.19379. David S. Kauvar and Charles E. Wade, “Impact of Hemorrhage on Trauma Outcome,” Journal of Trauma 60, no. 6 (2006): S3–S11, https://doi.org/10.1097/01.TA.0000199961.02677.19. Jain, Shobhit. “Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS).” In StatPearls, edited by Trevor C. Colebank, et al., updated 2023. StatPearls Publishing. Accessed September 8, 2025. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513298 Jurkovich, Gregory J., et al. “Hypothermia in Trauma Victims: An Ominous Predictor of Survival.” Journal of Trauma 29, no. 7 (1989): 991–994. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005373-198907000-00005. Gaspari, R., J. Blehar, A. Garza, J. J. Gleeson, P. Neri, A. Volpicelli, and C. M. Fields. “Emergency Department Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: What Should We Do and Why?” Resuscitation 109 (October 2016): 1-7. https://www.resuscitationjournal.com/article/S0300-9572(16)30478-6.
