In Ohio during the late 1980’s, the trauma nurse coordinators met and officially organized an Ohio group to discuss trauma,  the American College of Surgeons (ACS) verification process, and Ohio trauma legislation.  Kathy (Jenkins) Cookman, a registrar at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, had a vision to create a sister organization to gather those responsible for the collection of trauma data in a forum where sharing ideas on how to better accomplish job responsibilities, improve data collection, and to learn from one another was promoted.  This idea was presented to the trauma nurse coordinators group and enthusiastically supported.  The Alliance of Ohio Trauma Registrars (AOTR) was then established as a statewide registrars group in 1992 .

Kathy took on the leadership responsibility for the AOTR and contacted registrars around Ohio inviting them to participate.  The group started small, meeting every other month in Columbus, Ohio, for discussion of trauma topics.   Speakers were invited and education for the registrars expanded.  The group has grown to over 75 members.   The AOTR supports registrars in Ohio through meeting education, conference fee support, verification processes, data validation and Ohio legislation updates and committee participation.

Special recognition goes to Kathy Haley, Trauma Program Manager of Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio and Joyce Schmidt, Trauma Coordination at Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, for being instrumental in bring this vision to life.