Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota Receive Level III Trauma D...( MINNEAPOLIS and ST....),Health

MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL, Minn., July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The Minnesota Department of Health recently designated Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota's two hospital locations as Level III Trauma Hospitals. Children's of Minnesota has the sixth busiest pediatric emergency department in the nation with over 84,000 visits per year, and already treats around 450 trauma cases each year. Children's voluntarily participated in the intense designation process, which included an external review of the hospitals' resources and capabilities to care for young trauma patients. Children's met the required standards of commitment, clinical and equipment resources, and staff training.

Children's President and CEO Alan L. Goldbloom, MD, said Children's of Minnesota is proud to achieve this designation, and is working toward higher trauma level designation down the road.

"Trauma care is one of the most important services we provide," said Goldbloom. "Studies show that children who suffer trauma do best when treated at children's hospitals. This designation will help us deliver that care even more effectively to more families. We have also begun the process of developing the capabilities to be certified as a Level I pediatric trauma center at Children's, as part of our continuing effort to bring the best quality of care to all children and families in Minnesota."

For a severely injured person, the time between sustaining an injury and receiving definitive care is the most important predictor of survival. The Level III Trauma designation for Children's means children who are severely injured will have a better chance of being able to get the critical care they need in a timely manner.

"Trauma is the third leading cause of death in Minnesota," said Minnesota Commissioner of Health, Dr. Sanne Magnan. "The goal of the trauma system is to decrease injured pati
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