The American College of Surgeons has honored a Casper surgeon for his work in improving trauma care in Wyoming and the rest of the country.

Dr. James Anderson, of Wyoming Surgical Associates, P.C., won the college's only 2008 Meritorious Achievement Award this year.

The college's Committee on Trauma awards one or several physicians the honor annually, according to Cory Petty, senior public information assistant.

Anderson, a Casper native who attended both Natrona County High School and the University of Wyoming, has been involved with trauma care on a local, state and national level since 1981.

He returned to Casper that year after finishing his medical degree at the University of Colorado-Denver and training in Seattle.

He helped establish Wyoming's first life fight program and helped the state create the first mandatory funded trauma system in the country, he said.

It is important to have a viable trauma system in a rural state like Wyoming, he said, because of the great distance one might have to travel for care and some of Wyoming's labor and recreational activities.

"You can go off the road in winter and not be found until spring," Anderson said. "Anything we can do to decrease delays in the trauma system, a lot of lives can be saved."

He said the quicker someone receives care the better outcomes the patient will have.

"In Wyoming, we have farmers, miners, loggers, risky jobs that are away from care," Anderson said.

Also, accidents from driving all-terrain vehicles and riding horses account for a great deal of trauma Anderson sees in the state.

At a national level, Anderson was chairman of rural trauma for the American College of Surgeons.

Petty said Anderson has been extremely active at both the state and national levels with trauma care.

Anderson is a board certified general surgeon who specializes in vascular surgery. He also serves on the Wyoming Medical Center's Board of Directors.

"Many people worked very hard on the trauma system - legislators, EMTs, doctors, nurses," Anderson said. "I was just a small part of it."

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.