Screenshot from Valley Children's Hospital's YouTube channel.

Valley Children’s Hospital has achieved verification as a Level II Pediatric Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), giving it clearance to give definitive care to any patient with injuries. It is the only pediatric-specific trauma center in the region.

“This verification is important to our trauma center, as the ACS recognizes Valley Children’s—from our surgeons and nurses to our therapists and trauma coordinators—for providing exceptional pediatric trauma care as quickly as possible, from start to finish, for children involved in car crashes, fall accidents, acts of violence and other trauma,” said Todd Suntrapak, president and CEO of Valley Children’s.

Representatives from the ACS’s Verification Review Committee (VRC) visited Valley Children’s Hospital earlier this year to assess the commitment, readiness, resources, policies, patient care and performance improvement among other requirements. The VRC is nationally recognized for setting trauma standards, and verified trauma centers must meet essential criteria that ensure capability and institutional performance as outlined by the ACS.

“The verification by the ACS is strong confirmation of Valley children’s dedication and sense of our community responsibility to provide top-notch pediatric trauma care to our most precious resource—our kids,” said Dr. Michael Allshouse, medical director of the Valley Children’s pediatric trauma center and pediatric surgery.

This verification comes one week after being ranked as one of the top children’s hospitals in the nation for orthopedics, endocrinology, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery for 2018-19.