Your Visit to the Pediatric Trauma Center
A visit to the Trauma Center is never planned. Knowing what to expect will help you.
What happens when my child enters the hospital?
Upon arriving at the Emergency Department, your child will immediately encounter a highly trained team of doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, respiratory therapists and emergency medical technicians. This team's main focus is to stabilize your child and identify any injuries.
Based on the findings, your child may require further testing, such as a chest X-ray, computerized tomography (CT) scan and lab work (blood/urine). The CT takes pictures of the entire body to look for internal injuries. Pediatric radiologists evaluate these scans.
Depending on identified injuries, we may bring in other pediatric specialists including orthopedists, neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons and others to help treat your child.
How do you decide where my child goes next?
Based on the injuries and the level of care your child requires, he or she may be treated and released from the Emergency Department, taken to the operating room for surgery or admitted to the inpatient area, including the Pediatric Critical Care Unit (PCCU) or the trauma surgery floor. While admitted to the hospital, a team of specialists will follow your child's progress and care for any needs that may arise.
After you leave the hospital
Some children may require inpatient rehabilitation after a hospital stay. The trauma team and other pediatric specialists will evaluate your child throughout their stay and help make appropriate arrangements to meet his or her needs, including for recovery. The trauma team works hard to ensure the transition from hospital to rehab or to home is as smooth as possible.