Dr. Stacey Stevens Manser
Dr. Stacey Stevens Manser

How many injured patients come into emergency rooms not knowing they also suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD)? Can they be screened to address their needs sooner – before their PTSD symptoms worsen?

Dr. Stacey Stevens Manser is addressing these questions in a new research project funded by Seton Healthcare Family. Seton has granted approximately $300,000 for seven research studies involving physicians, faculty members and other researchers, and aimed at resolving critical health and health care services delivery problems in Central Texas. This is the first round of funding of a new partnership with the LBJ School of Public Affaris and the Center for Health and Social Policy (CHASP).

“Construction of UT’s new Dell Medical School finishes next year, but we’re already fostering high-quality research involving UT faculty and our medical professionals,” said Ryan Leslie, Seton’s vice president for academics and research. “Ultimately, these studies can lead to better care that is sensitive to each patient’s expectations — what we at Seton call Humancare — and further build a long-term, medical research partnership between UT and Seton.”

Manser is the associate director of the School of Social Work’s Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health. She is working for this project with Dr. Ben Coopwood, director of surgical critical care at UMC Brackenridge and vice-chair department of surgery for UT Austin Dell Medical School.