Tracy Cotner-Pouncy, MSN, RN, TCRN
Director, Trauma & Forensic Services
Baylor Scott & White Health
2340 Pirtle Drive
Salado, TX 76571
(210) 273-6967
[email protected]
WORK EXPERIENCE
(2025-Present) Director, Trauma & Forensic Services, Baylor Scott & White, Temple, TX. Regional oversight of (1) Level I Adult, (1) Level II Pediatric, (1) Level II trauma centers and regional forensic services. Leadership involvement in hospital, local, regional, state, and national trauma committees, and organizations.
(2021-2025) Sr. Director, Trauma Services, Northern Colorado: Regional Director for (1) Level I Trauma Center and (3) Level III Trauma Centers in Northern Colorado. Tasked with development and standardization of the regional trauma system for UCHealth in the Northern region.
(2011-2021) Sr. Director, Trauma Services: Sr. Director, Trauma Services for University Health System (UHS) in San Antonio, TX. Responsible for the overall management of the Level I Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center; the highest-level trauma center for San Antonio and South Texas. Responsibilities included involvement in hospital, local, regional, state, and national trauma committees, and organizations.
(2001-2011) Trauma Program Manager: Served as the Trauma Program Manager for the military Level I Trauma Centers at Wilford Hall Medical Center (WHMC) 2001-2009; and Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC), San Antonio, TX from 2009-2011. Responsible for the overall management of the Trauma Program; ensuring compliance to both American College of Surgeons and Texas Department of State Health Services criteria. Served as a key representative in hospital, local, regional, and state trauma committees.
(1998-2001) State Trauma Designation Coordinator: Served as one of the State Trauma Designation Coordinators for the Texas Department of Health; overseeing approximately 170 trauma centers in the state of Texas.
(1996-1998) Staff Nurse: Started nursing career at Scott & White Hospital, Temple, TX in the post-surgical floor for Urology services for one year then transferred to the Emergency Department. Scott & White is a Level II trauma center.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
50th Annual Scientific Congress, Royal College of Surgeons of Thailand: Conference Speaker, Thailand, July 2025.
Pan American Trauma Society Congress: Conference Speaker, Ecuador, May 2025.
International Medical Ambassador/Instructor for the Defense Institute for Medical Operations Trauma Nursing Course: Estonia, June 2010.
International Medical Ambassador/Instructor for the Defense Institute for Medical Operations Leadership in Disaster Response and Trauma System Development Course: Mauritius, May 2007.
Trauma Nurse Consultant to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC), Germany: October and November 2005, January 2006, June 2007, and March 2024. Key in the development of the trauma program at LRMC; to include the performance improvement process and data collection/reporting
structure. Assisted with the preparation and present for the first Level II trauma review by the American College of Surgeons at LRMC.
International Medical Ambassador/Instructor for the Defense Institute for Medical Operations Leadership in Disaster Response and Trauma System Development Course: Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 2005.
Chile/US Critical Care Nurse Subject Matter Exchange, Sept 2003 – Primary coordinator for the Trauma/Critical care visit for two Chilean nurses.
TRAUMA CREDENTIALS
Certified as a registered nurse since 1996
Current BLS, ACLS, PALS, and TNCC certifications
Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) - Course Coordinator
Rural Trauma Team Development Course (RTTDC) – Course Coordinator
Trauma Outcomes & Performance Improvement Course (TOPIC) – Faculty
American Trauma Society (ATS) Trauma Program Management Course - Faculty
Trauma, EMS & Acute Care Foundation (TETAF) Trauma Surveyor for the State of Texas
Trauma Surveyor for the State of Arkansas
American College of Surgeons (ACS) Nurse Reviewer
Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN)
Stop the Bleed Instructor
CITI Training for Trauma Research
EDUCATION
Grand Canyon University, MSN, May 2023
University of Texas – Arlington, RN to BSN, 2020
Baptist Memorial Hospital System - School of Professional Nursing, San Antonio, Texas, 1995
Texas A&M University, Bachelor of Science Degree, Community Health Education, 1993
HONORS
Level I-II TPM/Director Award, Colorado Trauma Network (CTN) - 2024
Lifetime Achievement Award, Texas Trauma Coordinators Forum (TTCF) – 2022
Civilian of the Quarter for Squadron and Group Level – 4th Quarter 2003
David Garrett Nursing Student Award for Excellence - December 1995
LEADERSHIP
President Elect, Society of Trauma Nurses (STN), 2026
Secretary, Society of Trauma Nurses (STN), 2025
Member, Systems Committee, Trauma Center Association of America (TCAA), 2024-2025
Advisory Board, Colorado Whole Blood Coalition (CWBC), 2023-2025
Member, International Committee, STN, 2023-Present
Director-at-Large, Society of Trauma Nurses (STN), 2022-2025
Nurse Partner, American College of Surgeons, Best Practice Guidelines, 2022-2025
Member, Trauma Nurse Leadership Council, American Trauma Society (ATS); 2021-Present
Member, Conference Planning Committee, STN, 2023-2024
Co-Chair, TOPIC Committee, Society of Trauma Nurses (STN); 2019-2022
Chair, Stop the Bleed Committee, Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC); 2019
STN Liaison - American College of Surgeons (ACS), Trauma Systems Committee; 2017-2023
American Trauma Society (ATS) Trauma Registry Course – Faculty, 2017-2022
Director at Large, Texas Trauma Coordinators Forum (TTCF); 2017-2021
Role Delineation Workgroup, Society of Trauma Nurses, Sept 2017
Appointed member, Trauma Systems Committee, Governor’s EMS & Trauma Advisory Council (GETAC); 2009-2011
Chair, Mentorship Committee; Texas Trauma Coordinators Forum (TTCF); 2006-2017
Chair, Trauma Coordinators Committee, Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC); 2005-2011; 2015-2018
PRESENTATIONS
Conference Presenter, The Nurse Leader’s Role in the Systemization of Trauma Programs. TQIP Conference, November 2025.
Conference Presenter, What’s Blood Got To Do With It?, McSwain Trauma Conference, Erie, PA, Sept 2025.
Conference Presentation Moderator, Taking it to the Streets: Nursing Leadership in the Implementation of Whole Blood Programs, STN TraumaCon, April 2025.
Conference Presenter, The 2022 Standards: What is your PIPS Program Missing & How to take your PIPS to the Next Level. TQIP Conference, November 2024.
Conference Presenter, The Rural Implementation of a Whole Blood Program: Panel Discussion. EMSAC Conference, November 2024.
Presenter, A System’s Approach to Trauma Registry. TCAA Webinar, Oct 2024
Conference Presenter, Leading Generations in the Workplace, UCHealth Symposium, Aug 2024
Presenter, Defining Needs of Nurses Worldwide, STN International Committee Webinar, May 2024
Presenter, When Minutes Count…How to Document Comprehensive Minutes for PIPS, STN Webinar, 2023
Presenter, Trauma Program Staffing Ratios: Getting it Right!, TCAA Annual Conference, May 2023.
Presenter, Rural TOPIC, STN TraumaCon, March 2023.
Presenter, Rural TOPIC, ACS-COT Annual Meeting, March 2023.
Conference Presenter, From Chaos to Control: Identifying and Defining PI Audit Filters. TQIP Annual Scientific Meeting, Dec 2022.
Presenter, Whole Blood: Deep in the Heart of Texas. Implementing a Regional Whole Blood Program. Society of Trauma Nurses Webinar, December 2020
Conference Speaker, Hawaiian Island Trauma Symposium, Honolulu, HI, July 2017
Conference Presenter, Linking Your TQIP Team to PIPS, TQIP Annual Scientific Meeting, Nov 2016
Guest Lecturer, Performance Improvement Workshop with Dr Glen Tinkoff, Southern Minnesota Regional Trauma Advisory Council (SMRTAC), Sept 2010
Guest Lecturer, Communicating with the Generations, Trauma Grand Rounds, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, Sept 2010
Presenter, Rural Trauma, with Dr Donald Jenkins, HOTRAC Trauma Symposium, May 2007
Presenter, Trauma Centers in the Military Setting, Airlife’s EMS Night Out, May 2006
ABSTRACTS/PUBLICATIONS & POSTERS Chreiman, K.M., Cotner-Pouncy, T., & Kyle, A. (2026). Audit filters: netting opportunities (Commentary). Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open. doi:10.1136/ tsaco-2025-002156. American College of Surgeons. (2025). Best Practice Guidelines: Management of Chest Wall Injuries. https://www.facs.org/media/qdgliayt/2025_tr_bestpracticesguidelines_chest-wall.pdf. American College of Surgeons. (2025). Best Practice Guidelines: Management of Genitourinary Injuries. https://www.facs.org/media/ya5hcu0s/genitourinary_guidelines.pdf. Lee, J.S., Johnson, E., Schmockel, N.H., McIntyre, R.C., ....Cotner-Pouncy, T., & Schroeppel, T.J. (2025). Impact of implementing a venous thromboembolism guideline and electronic health records order set on venous thromboembolism rates in trauma patients: A multicenter study. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. DOI: 10.1997/TA0000000000004628. Cotner-Pouncy, T., Cofran, J., Teasley-Bennett, J., Cook, K., & Sirios, B. (2025). Defining Performance Improvement (PI) Success. TCAA Conference (Poster). Cotner-Pouncy, T., Cofran, J., Teasley-Bennett, J., Cook, K., & Sirios, B. (2025). The Performance Improvement (PI) Dictionary has Defined Success! STN TraumaCon (Poster). Gallegos, S., Benton, R., Breuer, J., Jefferies, K.,...Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2025). You Beta Believe We Made It! STN TraumaCon (Poster). Leaming, A., Dummer, C., Crist, G., Weston, A., Buckman, L., Sterling, A., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2025). Transforming Pain into Power: Supporting Trauma Survivors. STN TraumaCon (Poster).
Skaff, D., Jowett, H., Ackermann, R., Kolstadbraten, K.M., Cotner-Pouncy, T.,...Glenn, M. (2025). International Trauma Nurses’ Perspective of Their Local Trauma Resources. STN TraumaCon (Poster). Fakhry, S., Wilson, N., Cotner-Pouncy, T., GAC Research Study Group. (2025). Trauma Activation Criteria Overload: Are more better? STN TraumaCon (Poster). American College of Surgeons. (2024). Best Practice Guidelines: The Management of Traumatic Brain Injury. https://www.facs.org/media/vgfgjpfk/best-practices-guidelines-traumatic-brain-injury.pdf. Brockman, V., Cribari, C., Cotner-Pouncy, T., Krell, R., Finch, H.,...Schroeppel, T. (2024). Assessing Patient Outcomes after Discharge: A System Collaborative utilizing TQIP Patient Reported Outcomes. TQIP (Oral Presentation). Brockman, V., Cotner-Pouncy, T., Krell, R., Finch, H.,...Schroeppel, T. (2024). System-Wide Initiative to Decrease Time to Hemorrhage Control. TQIP (Poster). Krell, R., Finch, H., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2024). “The Times They are a-Changin” – Management Restructure and Job Role Standardization for Sustainability and Success. TQIP (Poster). Dummer, C., Leaming, A., Crist, G., Weston, A., Sterling, A., Buckman, L., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2024). From Mental Pain to Mental Victories. TQIP (Poster). Buckman, L., Mondragon, E., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2024). Ya’ll Ready for This? The Success that Comes from Continuous Survey Readiness. TQIP (Poster). Gallegos, S., Benton, R., Breuer, J., Jefferies, K.,...Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2024). We’re Still Standing...A Trauma Registry Team’s Journey Through Beta Testing. TQIP (Poster). Krell, R., Finch, H., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2024). “The Times They are a-Changin” – Management Restructure and Job Role Standardization for Sustainability and Success. UCHealth Nursing Leadership Conference (Poster). Buckman, L., Mondragon, E., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2024). Ya’ll Ready for This? The Success that Comes from Continuous Survey Readiness. UCHealth Symposium (Poster). Gallegos, S., Benton, R., Breuer, J., Jefferies, K.,...Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2024). We’re Still Standing...A Trauma Registry Team’s Journey Through Beta Testing. UCHealth Symposium (Poster). Leaming, A., Crist, G., Dummer, C., Weston, A., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2024). Empowering Trauma Survivors. UCHealth Symposium Poster Winner. Villanueva, C., Brockman, V., Cofran, J., Vega, S., Dummer, C., Cotner-Pouncy, T.,…Schroeppel, T. Using TQIP Collaborative for System VTE Prophylaxis Utilization in Trauma Patients. (2024). UCHealth Quality & Patient Safety Conference Poster Winner. Dummer, C., Teasley-Bennett, J., Merlino, J., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2023). Traumatic injury is only the beginning: Addressing the psychological aftermath. STN (Poster). Leaming, A., Cofran, J., Heins, A., Coopwood, B., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2023). Taking the Over:Reducing Under-triage in the Emergency Department Through Staff Empowerment. TQIP (Poster). Teasley-Bennett, J., Cofran, J., Dummer, C., Rafiti, P., Crist, G., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2022) Roadmap to continuous performance improvement: Not a destination, but what a journey. TQIP (Poster). Teasley-Bennett, J., Cofran, J., Rafiti, R., Cotner-Pouncy, T., Dennis, C., Koepp, B. (2021). Catastrophic Brain Injury – Moving Past the Barriers to Guideline Development. TQIP (Poster). Cofran, J., Teasley-Bennett, J., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2021) To Bleed or Not to Bleed – Time to Definitive Hemorrhage Control. (2021). TQIP (Poster). Cofran, J., Brooks, M., Thorkildsen, C., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2021). Regional Trauma System Dashboard: Data Visualization Development. TQIP (Poster). Zhu, C.S., Braverman, M., Goddard, S., McGinity, A., Pokorny, D., Cotner-Pouncy, T.,…Jenkins, D.H. (2021). Prehospital shock index and systolic blood pressure are highly specific for pediatric massive transfusion. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery 91(4), 579-583. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000003275
Shiels, M., Cotner-Pouncy, T., & Jenkins, D. (2020). The pragmatism of whole blood is transforming the care of the injured patient in South Texas: So where is the documentation? Society of Trauma Nurses (Poster).
Shiels, M., Cotner-Pouncy, T., & Jenkins, D. (2019). The pragmatism of whole blood is transforming the care of the injured patient in South Texas: So where is the documentation? TQIP (Poster).
Shiels, M., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2019). Trauma registry practices and the unanticipated affects to TQIP risk-adjusting reporting. TQIP (Poster).
Zhu, C., Cobb, D., Jonas, R. B., Pokorny, D., Rani, M., Cotner-Pouncy, T., Oliver, J., Cap, A., Cestero, R., Nicholson, S.E., Eastridge, B.J., & Jenkins, D.H. (2019). Shock index and pulse pressure as triggers for massive transfusion. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery 87(1S), S159-S164.
Zhu, C., Cobb, D., Jonas, R., Rani, M. Cotner-Pouncy, T., Oliver, J.,…Jenkins, D. (2018) Would pre-hospital whole blood transfusion improve mortality in severely injured patients? American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Annual Meeting (Abstract).
Zhu, C., McGinity, A., Cotner-Pouncy, T., Eastridge, B.J., Epley, S., Greebon,
L.J.,…Jenkins, D.H. (2018). Pediatric massive transfusions at a level I trauma center: What is the trigger? Pediatric Trauma Society Annual Meeting (Abstract).
Zhu, C., McGinity, A., Cotner-Pouncy, T., Eastridge, B.J., Epley, S., Greebon,
L.J.,…Jenkins, D.H. (2018). Are all children created alike? Differences in MTP across three age groups. EMS World Expo (Abstract).
Cotner-Pouncy, T., & Bolenbaucher, R. (2017). Benefits of a trauma nursing fellowship. Society of Trauma Nurses Annual Conference (Poster).
Texas EMS Trauma & Acute Care Foundation (TETAF). (2016). Burn Clinical Practice Guideline.
Cotner-Pouncy, T., & Belscamper, D. (2015) Repeat CT scans on trauma patients pre and post implementation of LifeImage. STRAC Annual Conference (Poster).
Trauma Outcomes & Performance Improvement Course. (2014, 2022, 2025).
Cubano MA, Lenhart MK., et al. (2013). Emergency War Surgery (4th ed.). Fort Sam Houston, Texas: Borden Institute, U.S. Army, Office of the Surgeon General.
Bolenbaucher, R., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2010). Caring for wounded warriors: Development of performance improvement knowledge for deployed trauma nurse coordinators. Society of Trauma Nurses Annual Conference (Poster).
Fecura. S., Martin, C., Martin, K., Bolenbaucher, R., & Cotner-Pouncy, T. (2008). Nurses’ role in the joint theater trauma system. Journal of Trauma Nursing, 15(4): 170-173. DOI: 10.1097/01.JTN.0000343321.70334.c9