Dr. Andrew Kerwin got his start in trauma surgery during his fellowship at Regional One Health’s Elvis Presley Trauma Center – and he has now come full circle as its Medical Director.
Dr. Kerwin recently led the trauma center team in achieving prestigious American College of Surgeons verification, which is the gold standard in trauma care.
He now looks forward to a bright future, which includes construction of a new, expanded trauma center to serve our community’s needs for generations to come.
When Dr. Andrew Kerwin was deciding where to go for his trauma surgery fellowship in 1997, he knew the Elvis Presley Trauma Center offered a busy setting and diverse patient population that would give him unmatched experience.
Today, the trauma center still has those credentials as one of the busiest level one facilities in the country, with patients arriving after everything from car crashes to acts of violence to agricultural and manufacturing accidents.
But today, Dr. Kerwin is not a new physician seeking experience. Instead, he is leading the way as Chief of Trauma and Trauma Medical Director, helping the facility earn prestigious American College of Surgeons verification and looking to the future as Regional One Health builds a new hospital to meet the growing critical care needs of the region.
It’s a full-circle story that Dr. Kerwin himself never would have anticipated.
“This is something I never, ever dreamed would happen,” he said. “When I came here as a fellow, Dr. (Tim) Fabian and Dr. (Martin) Croce were leading the program. They were known as trauma surgeons who had built this incredible program. I’m very humbled and proud to be able to carry on their legacy.”
Growing up outside of Chicago, Dr. Kerwin knew in high school he wanted to be a doctor. He attended medical school at Medical College of Ohio (now University of Toledo) and then pursued a general surgery residency.
Dr. Andrew Kerwin’s career has come full circle – after doing his fellowship at the Elvis Presley Trauma Center, he is now its Medical Director. “I’m very humbled and proud to carry on the legacy at the trauma center,” he said.
“Once I got exposed to trauma surgery, the more I experienced, the more I liked it,” he said. “I liked the variety and the quick-thinking part of it. I found it rewarding when we could take a patient who was injured very badly and help them get better.”
Dr. Kerwin first met Dr. Fabian, the Elvis Presley Trauma Center founder; and Dr. Croce, who is now Chief Medical Officer at Regional One Health, at a conference during his residency. They sparked his interest in coming to Memphis for his fellowship.
“When I came for the interview, I was impressed by the entire program, from the layout of the hospital to how patients flowed through the system to the sheer volume,” Dr. Kerwin said. “When you look for a training program, you want to get experience. At the Elvis Presley Trauma Center and University of Tennessee Health Science Center, I knew I’d work very hard and be extremely busy, but when I was done I would have tremendous experience.”
The fellowship lived up to his expectations, and when he finished he started as a trauma surgeon and faculty member at University of South Carolina-Columbia.
After three years, he took a position at the level one trauma center at University of Florida in Jacksonville, where he helped the hospital earn ACS verification.
“As you get further into your career, you find out more about yourself and what you want to do,” Dr. Kerwin said. “I’ve always been interested in quality and performance improvement – the idea of how we can do even better for the next patient who comes in, make the system better, make our hospital and pre-hospital care better.”
When he was approached by Regional One Health and UTHSC to serve as Trauma Medical Director and Chief of Trauma, it was a perfect fit for both Dr. Kerwin’s interests and the hospital’s aspirations. With Regional One Health looking not only at ACS verification for the trauma center but the future construction of a modernized, expanded hospital, he would be returning to Memphis at an exciting time.
Dr. Kerwin recently helped the Elvis Prelsey Trauma Center earn verification from the American College of Surgeons. This prestigious recognition of the center’s operations and outcomes is considered the gold-standard in trauma care.
“I knew my experience with ACS verification would help with the process here, and that was appealing as a leadership opportunity,” he said. “Talk about the new hospital was also exciting. I thought it would be spectacular to have a say in the design and how it worked.”
Along with that, it would be a chance to rejoin an exceptional team in caring for Mid-South families in times of crisis.
“You don’t have a chance to meet patients in the office and discuss what’s been going on – they show up and you have a very short time to get whatever history you can and decide on a treatment plan,” Dr. Kerwin said. “But after that, when we have someone who gets better and goes through rehab and goes home, we get to know who they are aside from the injury.”
“It’s amazing to see how resilient people can be. Sometimes they’ll come back to visit us and say thank you, and I have such a tremendous sense of gratitude to be able to share that moment with patients and families.”
Dr. Kerwin also enjoys working with the incredible team at the trauma center. “A trauma center is not just the trauma surgeons,” he said. “Sometimes hundreds of people will touch the patient throughout their stay from their arrival in trauma until they leave. You interact with so many providers, and it’s a chance to collaborate and build trust.”
He said successful trauma care is a big team effort that includes nurses, therapists, anesthesiologists, physicians specializing in everything from neurosurgery to orthopedics, radiologists, imaging techs, chaplains, patient transporters, blood bank technicians, environmental services – the list goes on and on.
For Dr. Kerwin, patient outcomes and experiences are the top priority. He is proud to work with an exceptional team at the trauma center and excited to work toward a new, expanded facility that will meet our community’s needs.
Dr. Kerwin is grateful to have excellent partners throughout the trauma service and the rest of the hospital, allowing the team to offer the multidisciplinary care that critically injured patients need.
Now, he looks forward to working with that team to build a new trauma center.
“We love the layout of our trauma center, but it’s way too small for the patient volume we see. Despite that, we still provide amazing care,” Dr. Kerwin said. “With the new facility, we can enhance how we provide care. We’ll have more room and better technology to care for patients, and that’s really exciting.”
They’ll also add capacity to train students and do research, allowing the trauma center to develop the next generation of providers and discover new standards of care.
Along with the professional rewards, Dr. Kerwin is embracing his return to Memphis on a personal level.
He and his wife, who also works in health care, enjoy hosting residents, fellows, and faculty at their home. They are close with their grown children: their daughter is a nurse, their oldest son is an attorney, and their youngest son is adding yet another family connection to Regional One Health – he’s currently a general surgery resident at UTHSC.
“I couldn’t have done this without the support of my wife and my family,” Dr. Kerwin said. “My wife has encouraged me and been my biggest supporter. She also advises me when I am considering ideas for the program and our group.”
His family also gives him the opportunity to disconnect from the rigors of trauma care, as do hobbies like cycling and skiing.
“You see a lot of bad things. You see people get hurt, and sometimes we can’t save people. So, you’ve got to get away sometimes,” Dr. Kerwin said. “For me, that’s family and friends and getting outside. I like to ride on the trail. I like to ski, and I try to take one trip each year.”
He’s grateful to have found a balance that lets him impact patients’ lives, work with an incredible team, and establish a bright future for trauma care in the Mid-South.
“Dr. Fabian and Dr. Croce are known for establishing the Elvis Presley Trauma Center as the standard of care not just for Memphis and the Mid-South, but everywhere,” Dr. Kerwin said. “They’re known throughout the world for the work they did here, and it’s an honor to be able to carry on their legacy.”