Trauma Care Center

Research shows that when children suffer a traumatic injury, more survive and have better outcomes when given pediatric trauma care at a pediatric hospital. The Pediatric Trauma Care Center at our Oakland campus is dedicated exclusively to caring for children and is an ACS verified Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center. The center is one of only five in California offering the level of comprehensive care that merits that designation from the American College of Surgeons.

With a staff of board-certified pediatric emergency medicine specialists, we provide immediate, highly specialized pediatric emergency services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We see an average of 700 trauma patients per year, making the team at the Trauma Care Center one of the most experienced in the Bay Area.

Why Families Choose Us

Northern California’s Leading Pediatric Trauma and Emergency Services

• As one of only five ACS Level 1 pediatric trauma centers in California, Children's Hospital Oakland provides immediate, highly specialized pediatric emergency services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Services Provided by a Level 1 Trauma Center

• Outstanding trauma patient care from admission through all phases of care and follow-up.
• A multidisciplinary trauma quality improvement system.
• 24-hour call-panels of board-certified physicians.
• An approved intensive care unit.
• Available operating rooms, blood bank, radiology, and rehabilitation.
• Trauma research and injury prevention activities.

Experience and Pediatric Trauma Expertise

• Children's Hospital Oakland holds an Emergency Medicine Services for Children (EMS-C) designation and approval within California to function as a Pediatric Critical Care Center (PCCC).
• Our facilities are staffed with board-certified pediatric emergency medicine specialists who see an average of 8,000 patients with trauma-related injuries a year.
• Most major trauma victims in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties under age 14 will be brought to the Emergency Department at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland.
• Critically injured children across Northern California and from as far away as Nevada are transferred and transported to UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland.

Ancillary Support Services for All of Northern California

• We're committed to your child's recovery from start to finish. Children's Hospital Oakland maintains an extensive in-house and outpatient rehabilitation department for the pediatric trauma patients we serve.
• The Trauma Center supports a comprehensive injury-prevention program. Through these safety and child health advocacy efforts, we hope to eliminate unintentional childhood injuries and keep kids safe and healthy.

Transport and Transfer Services

• When a child is critically ill or injured, expert transportation can mean the difference between life and death. The region's most critically children and infants are transported to Children's Hospital Oakland each day. Children's provides expert, round-the-clock local, regional, and national patient transfer and critical emergency transportation by ambulance, fixed wing aircraft, and helicopter. Children's Critical Care Transport Team includes multiple medical specialties. We manage complex transports for children and infants with a wide variety of medical, cardiac, neonatal, surgical, and traumatic conditions.