RWJ Becomes First NJ Hospital to Be Certified as Pediatric Trauma Center

Editor's Note: The following information is a press release from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), in collaboration with Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has become the first hospital in New Jersey to be verified as a Pediatric Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

RWJUH’s trauma center has a long history of treating injured children and sought an additional level of verification this past April. The ACS Committee on Trauma’s verification program confirms that a trauma center has demonstrated its commitment to providing the highest quality trauma care for all injured patients from the pre-hospital phase through the rehabilitation process. Verified trauma centers are required to meet the essential criteria outlined in Resources for the Optimal Care of the Injured Patient.

As a result of a survey conducted in the spring, the hospital’s pediatric trauma program was verified as a Pediatric Trauma Center.

In addition, RWJUH’s Level I Adult Trauma Center was reverified for the eighth consecutive time. 

“New Jersey always has been a leader in the acute care and management of pediatric patients. The founding and ACS verification of the first Pediatric Trauma Center in the history of New Jersey at RWJUH, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at RWJUH and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School are a natural progression of our shared commitment and vision,” said Vicente H. Gracias, M.D., professor of surgery and chief of Trauma/Surgical Critical Care at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and medical director of the adult and pediatric trauma centers at RWJUH.

The entire RWJUH trauma team, from surgeons to nurses to support personnel and administrators, are fully and completely dedicated to improving the outcome from traumatic injuries for all of our children, said Pediatric Trauma Program Director Perry Stafford, M.D., professor of surgery and chief, Division of Pediatric Surgery, at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

“The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital was opened 10 years ago in New Brunswick to provide expert, comprehensive pediatric care for all the children in central New Jersey. As an important part of the hospital's mission, children with traumatic injuries have received specialized trauma care by RWJUH’s renowned trauma program. This new ACS verification reflects the continued excellence and superb outcomes that have marked this outstanding program,” Stafford said.

“As the only ACS-designated Pediatric Trauma Center in New Jersey, RWJUH and BMSCH will now be the state resource for the care of injured children in our region, from acute pediatric trauma care to injury prevention and trauma education,” Stafford added. “RWJUH has made certain that every injured child in New Jersey has a dedicated facility to ensure that their medical care is continually available, compassionate, family-centered, up-to-date and spans the entire trauma spectrum, from EMS responders in the field through pediatric trauma resuscitation, critical care, and recovery, including pediatric rehabilitation at Children’s Specialized Hospital.”