Stony Brook University Hospital is the only ACS-verified Level I Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center in Suffolk County. This is the highest-level trauma designation by the New York State Department of Health. We admit more than 300 children per year with traumatic injuries.
Injured children are transported by ambulance or helicopter to the Shock Trauma Unit in our Emergency Department, where our trauma team coordinates the initial evaluation and treatment.
The Emergency Room has round the clock coverage by our Surgical and Emergency Medicine faculties. Our surgeons are specialized in pediatric trauma surgery, performing both conventional and minimally invasive procedures. Specialty consultation is available 24 hours a day in neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery, and dental and maxillofacial surgery. Victims with major burns also receive highly specialized emergency care in our burn center whose staff works closely with the trauma team.
The Pediatric Trauma Team at Stony Brook Children’s works closely with the Pediatric Critical Care team to provide advanced tertiary medical care to critically injured children admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Among the sophisticated services we deliver are: continuous renal replacement therapy, high frequency oscillatory ventilation, inhaled nitric oxide therapy, and nutritional support. Our pediatric critical care specialists staff the unit 24/7 and provide advance traumatic brain injury management with our neurosurgical specialists. In addition, our trauma team works closely with physical therapy, occupational therapy, child life, and social work services to help injured children recover as fully as possible.
Because keeping kids safe and out of the Emergency Department is one of our primary goals, we offer injury prevention programs to the community free of charge. Our Pediatric Injury Prevention programs include Teddy Bear Clinics, Sports Safety Clinics, Teen Driving Initiatives, Safe Kids “Safety Games,” Parent Information Sessions and more. We also collaborate on community programs to educate the community on injury prevention. For more information about our available programs, please contact our Injury Prevention Coordinator, Kristi Ladowski, at (631) 444-8385.
We are also invested in educating the physicians of tomorrow and providing our community with the most up-to-date knowledge. Our Pediatric Trauma Surgical faculty are active in our medical school and residency programs. They also teach their colleagues and area providers in Advance Trauma Life Support (ATLS), a trauma education program developed by the American College of Surgeons.