Jeffrey Stuart Augenstein, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S.
Jeffrey S. Augenstein is currently a Professor of Surgery at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital Center in Miami, Florida - one of the busiest hospitals in the country. A board certified surgeon, he is the Director of the Ryder Trauma Center and Co-Chief, Division of Trauma and Critical Care Surgery. Dr. Augenstein has focused his career on the care of critically injured patients. He is the Director of the William Lehman Injury Research Center (WLIRC) and the Medical Computer Systems Laboratory at the University of Miami School of Medicine/Jackson Memorial Medical Center.
As the principal investigator on a large grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) beginning in the early 90’s, (1991-2005) Dr. Augenstein worked to create a national model for the prevention of automobile-related death and injury at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center. With DOT's multi-year funding, he has led the creation of a state-of-the-art multi-media, medical information system to address the clinical, administrative, research and educational components of trauma. This information system is the backbone of a multidisciplinary research effort addressing the epidemiology and biomechanics of automobile-related injury.
He has reviewed hundreds of automobile crashes in unprecedented detail. With his extensive knowledge and strong leadership skills, Dr. Augenstein has guided his team to become one of the nation’s leaders in the collection and utilization of medical and engineering data in the discovery of injury patterns. Dr. Augenstein has worked closely within many areas of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and along side the National Transportation Safety Board to incorporate “real-world crashes” into the study of automobile trauma.
Dr. Augenstein’s current multiyear funding from the Department of Defense has focused on innovative approaches to combat education using hand-held computer technology. He has had a lifelong interest in using computer technology to help; better care for patients with better documentation and education.
Dr. Augenstein received a B.S. in chemistry and a M.S. in psychology from the University of Miami. He continued his graduate training at the University of Miami under the National Institutes of Health Medical Scientist Training Program and simultaneously received both M.D. and Ph.D. degrees. He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, Iron Arrow and the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society as well as the recipient of multiple honors and awards in the area of injury prevention and control.
Dr. Augenstein has had held a variety of other high-level administrative positions including Associate Dean for Medical Information Systems and Deputy Dean for Clinical Affairs at the University of Miami School of Medicine.
He still maintains an active clinical schedule; teaching not only residents, but nurses, police and first providers the “complete story” of motor vehicle crashes. He has seen first hand the critical importance of injury prevention education. Thanks to a lecture given by Dr. Augenstein’s team, (Miami) police officers were able to recognize an injury pattern relating to liver damage (associated with wearing shoulder belts only) in a crash victim who initially appeared to be unharmed. The life of a forty-year old woman was saved and national attention was brought to the problem of non-obvious, life-threatening injuries.
Dr. Augenstein is the past President (2003-2004) of The Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, is a Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery, and holds a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgical Critical Care from the American Board of Surgery.
He has written and spoken extensively on the disease of trauma, automobile injury mechanisms, patterns of injury and healthcare informatics. Dr. Augenstein and his team have been invited guests around the world. He has provided testimony to the National Transportation Safety Board, Congressional Subcommittees and the White House.
Born in Miami Beach, Florida Dr. Augenstein resides in Coral Gables, with his wife, Deborah.
About the Ryder Trauma Center
The Ryder Trauma Center is the only certified Level I trauma center in South Florida for adults and children. The center is geared toward lowering the preventable death rate by speeding up the delivery of trauma care during the “golden hour”, the critical 60 minutes after an injury. Jackson Memorial Hospital sees over 8,000 emergency patients per year — about 3,600 at the Ryder Trauma Center. Approximately 30 percent of the general admissions result from gunshot wounds, stabbings or falls, and 70 percent are the result of blunt trauma, vehicular accidents, and various other causes. Children make up about 10 percent of all patients seen at the center.