Last Tuesday, I had the pleasure of receiving a private tour along with a few other local bloggers of CHOC’s (Children’s Hospital of Orange County) Trauma Center in Orange, California. Our tour was led by the Trauma Program Manager named Amy Waunch.
Did you know that there are four trauma centers in Orange County, but only one is dedicated exclusively to children – CHOC’s Level II Trauma Center. The CHOC Trauma Center opened back in January 2015 and is the only pediatric-focused trauma center in Orange County. Since their grand opening the trauma center has seen 164 pediatric traumatic incidents, compared to a little over 200 incidents per day in the emergency room.
7-year-old patient
Several emergencies come through CHOC’s Emergency Room every year, but not all injuries are significant enough to be admitted to one of the trauma center’s two service rooms. A physical trauma is defined as a blunt or penetrating injury that requires immediate medical treatment for the patient to survive.
The CHOC Trauma Unit Team receiving the patient.
The types of injuries that the trauma center sees on a routine basis are auto accidents, pedestrians hit by auto, playground equipment and shopping cart accidents, along with the most common type of emergency – falls from a two story window. The trauma center staff also sees an uptake in accidents during the holiday season when there is less supervision by parents because of many distractions.
1/3 of patients who visit the CHOC Trauma Center come by private vehicle. The rest are transported via ambulance. Nurse Amy told us that if your child has an emergency in Orange County, you can request that the ambulance bring your child directly to CHOC to be seen. Most ambulance companies in the area are willing to do so.
CHOC’s Trauma Center Team consists of 8 board-certified pediatric trauma surgeons, a trauma-trained pediatric nurse manager and pediatric specialists in such fields as anesthesia, cardiothoracic surgery and neurosurgery. All are available 24 hours a day. Furthermore, CHOC has a wide range of support services for patients and their families dealing with a traumatic situation, including psychology, child life and social services.
Here you can see a Child Life Specialist in action as she distracts and entertains a patient with an iPad while the trauma center team cares for the child’s immediate medical needs. Child Life Specialists also help children understand the hospital experience and feel less anxious.
Child Life Specialist assisting the child.
It takes anywhere from no time to 15 minutes to set up the room before a patient arrives. In fact, the attending team prefers to lower the lights and warm up the bed for the patient ahead of time.
The Trauma Center is also staffed with top of the line medical equipment including:
A Level 1 Rapid Infuser which can transfer fluid into the human body within 30 seconds.
Hotline Fluid Warmer
Pyxis Medical Supply Closet
Portable Ultra Sound Machine
A Glide Scope that helps to put a breathing tube in with a camera.
A Mobile Pharmacy Cart – CHOC has an in-house pharmacist available to prepare medicine.
Personally, as a parent who’s had a child stay at CHOC Hospital, what I love most about them is that they are a non-profit organization that will never turn anyone away in need of care! To learn more about CHOC’s new pediatric trauma unit visit http://www.choc.org.
