The Trauma Service at St. Louis Children's Hospital is a leading center in the treatment and care of injured children and was first designated at a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center by the State of Missouri in 1981. Since that time, the Trauma Service has pursued excellence in all aspects of pediatric trauma care.
An essential component of a trauma center is to anticipate and be ready for the needs of the critically injured child 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week. Thorough evaluation and treatment must be provided in a timely manner. The operating room and trained staff must be immediately available. Because children are the focus at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, all training and education, as well as equipment, are pediatric specific.
Following the guidelines prescribed by the American College of Surgeons, a comprehensive system to immediate and definitive care for the injured child was established. Trauma Services works to continually improve critical elements of trauma care such as:
- Access to the system
- Pre-hospital care
- Field Triage
- Acute hospital care
- Rehabilitation
- Injury prevention
- Burns
Approximately 58,000 patients are seen in the Emergency Department each year; approximately 1,500 of those cases are injury-related, from minor to severe including head injury, burns and orthopedics.
Definition:
A Pediatric Trauma Center is distinguished from other facilities in that it guarantees the immediate availability and dedication of specialized pediatric surgeons, anesthesiologists, physician specialists, nurses, pediatric resuscitation equipment and an available operating room on a 24 hour-a-day basis.
Requirements:
The publication from the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient, has been used as a guide for the development of trauma systems in the United States. The State of Missouri has utilized this guide in establishing the Trauma Center regulations (19 CSR 30.40.410-440). For designation as a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center, pediatric surgeons, emergency medicine physicians, and trauma program managers from various regions of the country provide a rigorous on-site review in order to ensure compliance of these regulations. St. Louis Children’s Hospital has been a designated Pediatric Level 1 Trauma Center since 1981 and was recently reviewed in November 2008.