Newswise — Oakland, CA (June 2, 2014) – The trauma center at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland has been verified as a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This achievement recognizes the trauma center's dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients and establishes the hospital as the only Bay Area, free-standing children’s hospital with ACS Pediatric Level 1 verification.
This designation of Level 1 Trauma Service is a significant recognition, with UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland now being one of only 44 ACS Pediatric Level 1 Trauma Centers in the country. There are only four other ACS Pediatric Level 1 Trauma Centers in California.
“It’s critical that seriously injured children be treated at a trauma center that is geared to their medical needs,” said UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland’s President and CEO Dr. Bertram Lubin. “The ACS Pediatric Level 1 trauma designation reaffirms that children needing trauma services will receive the most appropriate and highest quality trauma care available at our trauma center.”
The ACS verification process is a highly structured and extremely stringent review of all aspects of trauma care, including care provided by the Emergency Department, Surgical Services, Acute Care, PICU, Lab, and Diagnostic Imaging, Rehabilitation, Injury Prevention, and outreach education. UCSF Benioff Oakland’s trauma service received the highest accolades when the ACS survey team found that the hospital met all the criteria for a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center. The review was particularly complementary of the cohesiveness and teamwork of the hospital’s Trauma Services department. The hospital’s trauma center has been designated by Alameda County as a pediatric Level 1 trauma center since 1986. ACS Pediatric Level 1 certification brings national recognition to the hospital’s trauma center.
About UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital OaklandUCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland (formerly Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland) is a premier, not-for-profit medical center for children in Northern California, and is the only hospital in the East Bay 100% devoted to pediatrics. UCSF Benioff Oakland affiliated with UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco on January 1, 2014. UCSF Benioff Oakland is a national leader in many pediatric specialties including hematology/oncology, neonatology, cardiology, orthopedics, sports medicine, and neurosurgery. The hospital is one of only two solely designated California Level 1 pediatric trauma centers in the region, and has one of largest pediatric intensive care units in Northern California. UCSF Benioff Oakland has 190 licensed beds, over 500 physicians in 43 specialties, more than 2,600 employees, and a consolidated annual operating budget of more than $500 million. UCSF Benioff Oakland is also a leading teaching hospital with an outstanding pediatric residency program and a number of unique pediatric subspecialty fellowship programs.
UCSF Benioff Oakland’s research arm, Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), is internationally known for its basic and clinical research. CHORI is at the forefront of translating research into interventions for treating and preventing human diseases. CHORI has 250 members of its investigative staff, a budget of about $50 million, and is ranked among the nation’s top ten research centers for National Institutes of Health funding to children’s hospitals. For more information, go to www.childrenshospitaloakland.org and www.chori.org.
About the Committee on Trauma of the American College of SurgeonsEstablished by the American College of Surgeons in 1987, the organization’s Committee on Trauma (COT) Consultation/Verification Program for Hospitals promotes the development of trauma centers in which participants provide not only the hospital resources necessary for trauma care, but also the entire spectrum of care to address the needs of all injured patients. This spectrum encompasses the pre-hospital phase through the rehabilitation process. Verified trauma centers must meet the essential criteria that ensure trauma care capability and institutional performance, as outlined by the American College of Surgeons.
The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational association of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice.
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Contact: Melinda KrigelMedia RelationsUCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland(p) 510-428-3069(cell) 510-388-5927(e) [email protected]
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