The organization that would become the National Trauma Institute began in 2003 with a federal grant, secured by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, partnering military and civilian entities in San Antonio for a demonstration project and feasibility study for a joint military/civilian trauma and burn program.

The program included Brooke Army Medical Center and Wilford Hall Medical Center—San Antonio’s two Department of Defense Level 1 Trauma Centers—the US Army Institute of Surgical Research—and the University of Texas Health Science Center/University Hospital Trauma Center.

The program’s success led to a broader, nationwide focus on trauma research, and in January 2006, the National Trauma Institute was incorporated as a 501 (C) (3) nonprofit organization to further the work initiated by that civilian/military partnership.