Each year, children throughout Central California are seriously injured in car crashes, falls, accidents and acts of violence. They need the best medical care as quickly as possible. Critically injured children can now be transported directly to Valley Children’s Hospital, ensuring they receive the expert pediatric care they deserve even sooner than before – beginning in the Valley Children’s Emergency Department all the way through to our Pediatric Rehabilitation Center.
The Central California Emergency Medical Services (CCEMS) Agency has designated Valley Children’s Hospital as a Level II Pediatric Trauma Center, the only Pediatric Trauma Center in Central California.
Valley Children’s Hospital is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to treat a full range of pediatric injuries and to meet the unique medical needs of children, with a comprehensive team of specialists and services including:
- A 39-bed Emergency Department with 22 pediatric emergency medicine physicians
- A 42-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, with 17 pediatric intensivists and more than 150 critical care nurses, respiratory therapists and other clinical specialists
- A 20-bed Pediatric Rehabilitation Center, whose team of pediatric rehabilitation specialists and therapists can begin to coordinate care as soon as a trauma call comes in to develop a treatment plan to improve a patient’s outcome
- 7 pediatric general and trauma surgeons
- 7 pediatric orthopaedic surgeons
- 3 pediatric neurosurgeons
- 10 pediatric radiologists
- 3 pediatric plastic surgeons
- 4 pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons and pediatric interventional cardiologists
- More than 30 anesthesiologists who specialize in pediatrics and only work with children and the special needs they have when undergoing procedures and surgeries
“Valley Children’s has always been a center of specialized pediatric trauma services, ranging from injury prevention to pediatric rehabilitation,” says Dr. Michael Allshouse, medical director of Valley Children’s pediatric trauma program and pediatric surgery. “Our entire team of pediatric specialists is the finest in our region and everyone here is exclusively dedicated to the care of children. Our focus is also on the entire family and helping to restore that family as best we can.”
Valley Children’s President and CEO Todd Suntrapak adds, “Trauma is the leading cause of death in children, causing more fatalities than all other diseases combined. When there is a traumatic event, children are better off going directly to a place where everyone – from our doctors and nurses to respiratory therapists and radiologists – is trained in the care of kids. This designation further proves our commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of the more than 1.3 million children who live in our area.”
In 2015, Valley Children’s Emergency Department saw more than 120,000 visits. Almost 900 children underwent treatment for traumatic injuries. More than half of them were transferred to Valley Children’s Hospital from other locations. This designation can lead to quicker and improved care for children during the crucial early hours following injury. It also builds upon Valley Children’s decades-long history of providing high quality, comprehensive treatment of traumatic injuries.
In addition to serving as the region’s only pediatric trauma center, Valley Children’s will continue community efforts to promote injury prevention and education. Valley Children’s is the lead agency of Safe Kids Central California, a regional coalition of health care groups, emergency medical teams and law enforcement agencies that focuses on injury prevention education for children, parents, caregivers and educators.