1. What does it mean to be a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center?

When the worst happens, you don’t want to waste precious minutes while your child is transferred from place to place. Hospitals such as HCMC that are officially Level I Pediatric Trauma Centers have everything in place and ready to care for seriously injured children from the time of injury through rehabilitation. This high level of preparation can significantly increase a seriously injured patient’s chances of survival.

2. What are some of the requirements that HCMC met in order to be verified as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center?

HCMC is regularly inspected by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), a national trauma organization. Level I verification means that we maintain the staff, skills, facilities, and equipment necessary to provide the highest level of surgical care to injured children—24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Additionally, as a Level I center, we have excellent education and research programs as well as preventive and outreach programs. To learn more about our trauma prevention programs, many of which address injuries that occur in children, visit our Trauma Prevention page. We are the Minnesota site for the Injury Free Coalition for Kids, which is a national organization that aims to prevent childhood injuries through an evidence-based approach. We also serve as a referral resource for communities in the metro area and greater Minnesota as well as North Dakota and South Dakota.

3. What are the fundamental services HCMC offers as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center?

• 24-hour in-house coverage by general surgeons
• Prompt availability of physicians from varying specialties: orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, pediatric critical care
• A pediatric operating room that is always available
• Priority status for pediatric lab work and radiology
• Experienced, highly trained pediatric trauma nursing staff and trauma nurse clinicians

4. What sets HCMC apart from other Level I Pediatric Trauma Centers?

A particular area of expertise at HCMC is neurotrauma. We have a nationally recognized Traumatic Brain Injury Center, which includes the Pediatric Brain Injury Program. This program caters to children who have sustained traumatic brain injuries ranging from mild concussions to more severe injuries that require emergent surgical intervention.

5. If HCMC was previously providing Level I trauma care to children, why was it recently verified as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center?

Though HCMC has been providing trauma services for many years, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) recently changed their pediatric trauma criteria and encouraged adult trauma centers that also took care of many children to pursue a separate verification.

Steven Muehlstedt, MD, FACS. Dr. Muehlstedt is the Pediatric Trauma Medical Director at HCMC.

Robert Quickel, MD, FACS. Dr. Quickel is the Surgical Director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at HCMC.

Andrew Kiragu, MD, FAAP. Dr. Kiragu is the Medical Director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at HCMC. He is also Co-Medical Director of the Pediatric Brain Injury Program here at HCMC and the Principal Investigator for the Injury Free Coalition for Kids, Minneapolis.

Sherrie Murphy, RN, BSN, CEN, CPHQ is the Pediatric Trauma and Critical Care Coordinator at HCMC.

Julie Curti, RN, CPN, MSN, MBA-HCA is the Nurse Manager of Pediatrics and the PICU at HCMC.