Emergency Department & Trauma Center

Success Story of a Children's Hospital

Kadin

After being hit by a car, Kadin was rushed to Miller Children's to fight for his life.

Miller Children’s & Women's is one of only six Los Angeles County designated pediatric trauma centers. A hospital receives this designation if it is equipped with personnel and resources to provide surgical and life-saving care to critically injured patients. Some of the requirements needed include:

In-house trauma surgeon, ED physician and anesthesiologist
On-call neurosurgeon, orthopedic surgeon and other pediatric sub-specialists

There are certain county designated criteria for paramedics to bring the child to a pediatric designated Trauma Center. A trauma patient is a child who has suffered serious and life-threatening physical injury with the potential for secondary complications such as shock, respiratory failure, or death.

If it is decided that the patient is a trauma patient the trauma response team is activated to await the patient’s arrival. Miller Children’s & Women's has a designated trauma room, where life-saving equipment and technology designed and sized to fit a small child is available for quality trauma care. After the trauma surgery, the child is usually transferred to the Cherese Mari Laulhere Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Community Education & Injury Prevention Program

The key to preventing trauma is education. Miller Children's & Women's is dedicated to preventing injuries and deaths resulting from trauma. Injury prevention programs and support provided by Miller Children's & Women's include:

Stop the Bleed: No matter how rapid the arrival of professional emergency responders, bystanders will always be first on the scene. A person who is bleeding can die from blood loss within five minutes, therefore it’s important to quickly stop blood loss. “Stop the Bleed” is a nationwide campaign to empower individuals to act quickly and save lives.