Stanford hospitals reverified as Level I trauma center

American College of Surgeons gives Stanford the highest possible ranking

Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford have been reverified as a Level I adult and pediatric trauma center through May 2022 by the American College of Surgeons.

As Level I is the highest possible ranking for trauma centers, the verification confirms the hospitals’ dedication to providing the best possible care for all injured patients. Stanford Health Care has been recognized as a Level I trauma center for more than 20 years.

Packard Children’s, one of only five pediatric trauma centers in California verified as Level I by the American College of Surgeons, receives pediatric trauma patients from as far north as the Oregon border to as far south as Bakersfield. It is the only Level I pediatric trauma center on the San Francisco Peninsula.

Verified hospitals must provide a full spectrum of care to address the needs of all injured patients and must provide access to the following:

Coordinated, timely response from all necessary specialty medical staff

24-hour availability of trauma surgeons and emergency medicine doctors, including pediatric surgeons

Operating rooms that are equipped and ready at all times

Neurosurgical and neurological care for severely injured patients

Orthopaedic care for severely injured patients

A pediatric intensive care unit for the special needs of children with serious illnesses or injuries

In-hospital anesthesiologists

“Stanford is proud to be recognized as the singular and most comprehensive Level I adult and Level I pediatric trauma resource on the peninsula,” said David Spain, MD, chief of trauma and critical care surgery at Stanford Health Care and professor of surgery at the Stanford University School of Medicine. “The many departments and caregivers within Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford have worked closely to seamlessly address the needs of all our patients. The ACS reverification reflects our ongoing commitment to leading-edge, patient-centered care.”

Collectively, the two hospitals see approximately 2,870 trauma patients per year, with 63% of those patients requiring hospital admission — the most admissions of any trauma center in the county.

“Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford provides unparalleled specialty care, which allows us to quickly and safely deliver the best possible treatment for traumatically injured children,” said Stephanie Chao, MD, pediatric trauma medical director at Stanford Children’s Health and assistant professor of pediatric surgery at the School of Medicine. 

The ACS is a scientific and educational association of surgeons founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical education and practice and to improve the care of surgical patients.