The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital (BMSCH) at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Receives Verification as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center from the American[...]

Verification recognizes BMSCH's commitment to providing optimal care for injured patients

(New Brunswick, NJ) - The Pediatric Trauma Center at The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital (BMSCH) at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) has been verified as a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS COT). RWJUH is the only state-designated Level I Trauma Center in New Jersey to have an ACS COT Level I Pediatric Trauma Program. BMSCH is part of RWJBarnabas Health Children's Health network.

Verified trauma centers must meet the essential criteria that ensure trauma care capability and the highest level of institutional performance, as outlined by the ACS COT in its current manual, Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient. The New Jersey Department of Health has designated only three primary hospitals as Level 1 Trauma centers that are capable of providing 24/7, comprehensive care for patients with severe, life-threatening injuries. RWJUH is the first of these three to also be verified at the highest level by ACS COT in adult and pediatric trauma services.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital's Trauma Center Team celebrate the courage, strength and resilience of two recent patients who received care at its Level I Adult & Level I Pediatric Trauma Centers during its annual Trauma Survivors Celebration. Here, 8-year-old Joushua Nkak and his family share the stage with members of his care teams at last year's celebration.

"Achieving verification as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center is the result of a collective commitment to excellence among many highly specialized disciplines on our academic medical campus to deliver the highest level of trauma care to children in our state," says BMSCH Surgeon-in-Chief Steven Stylianos, MD, who is also Professor and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS). "We are deeply grateful to all of our team members at BMSCH, our colleagues at RWJMS and our partners across the RWJBarnabas Health Children's Health network, who help us serve as a state and regional resource for acute pediatric trauma care, trauma education and injury prevention outreach."

Each year, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital's Trauma Center Team celebrates the courage, strength and resilience of recent patients who received care at its Level I Adult & Level I Pediatric Trauma Centers during its annual Trauma Survivors Celebration. Here, 8-year-old Joushua Nkak and his family are honored by members of the Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center Teams from left to right: Amber Bartol BSN, RN, TCRN, Trauma Educator; Arunachalam Thenappan, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatric Surgery, The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at RWJUH and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS); Mayur Narayan, MD, MPH, MBA, MHPE, FACS, FCCM, FICS, FACT, FAIM, MAMSE, Chief, Division of Acute Care Surgery, Professor of Surgery, and Trauma Medical Director, RWJUH and RWJMS; and Joseph Law BSN, RN, TCRN, Pediatric Trauma Program Manager.

"We are proud that the American College of Surgeons has recognized our team's commitment to delivering a program that guides children and families through the entire continuum of trauma care. This includes first response in the field, pediatric trauma resuscitation, critical care, and recovery with exceptional pediatric rehabilitation therapy at Children's Specialized Hospital," adds Arunachalam Thenappan, MD, Medical Director of BMSCH's Level I Pediatric Trauma Center and Assistant Professor of Surgery at RWJMS.

There are three levels of ACS trauma center verification, each defined by specific standards that speak to the important roles of the center in serving its community. These standards clarify the care that must be available to the injured patient at the facility, along with expectations related to research and educational contributions to advance the field of trauma care and to ensure the availability of highly qualified trauma providers in the future.

BMSCH's Pediatric Trauma Program features:

• State-of-the-art trauma resuscitation bays with a stand-alone Pediatric Emergency

Department staffed by highly skilled physicians, nurses, social workers and physical therapists that specialize in advanced pediatric trauma and emergency care.

• Broad range of dedicated pediatric specialties available to pediatric trauma patients including anesthesia, neurosurgery, orthopedics, radiology/interventional radiology, pediatric intensivists, rehabilitation medicine and Child Life.

• Multidisciplinary, specialized and sensitive approach to non-accidental trauma.

• Award-winning Injury Prevention Program focused on keeping New Jersey's children safe.

• The largest Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in the state staffed by fellowship-trained pediatric intensivists 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week.

• State-of-the-art Center for Advanced Pediatric Surgery with dedicated pediatric operating rooms and pediatric peri-operative nursing teams.

"Standing up a Level 1 Trauma Center is an enormous and profound commitment to our communities to provide a level of critical care that most of us can only imagine, and all of us hope to never experience firsthand," says Alan Lee, President, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. "This is the highest-level of multi-disciplinary care across all clinical and ancillary team members, underscored by the promise to be ready any time of the day or night. We could not be prouder of the BMSCH team."

RWJUH's Level I Adult and Level I Pediatric Trauma Center teams regularly provide Stop the Bleed training in the community. Stop the Bleed encourages bystanders to become trained, equipped, and empowered to help in a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives.

The ACS Trauma Verification, Review, and Consultation (VRC) Program helps hospitals to evaluate and improve their trauma care. It provides an objective, external review of a trauma center's resources and performance. A team of trauma experts completes a site review of the hospital. The team assesses relevant components of the program including their regional role(s), the availability of physical and health human resources, policies, patient care protocols, and the hospital's quality improvement processes. Of note, patients cared for in ACS-verified trauma centers have a lower risk of death and improved quality of life compared with patients in non-verified centers. The ACS does not designate trauma centers. Instead, it verifies compliance with the standards listed in the manual, Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient. A facility earns the title of "designated trauma center" when it meets the requirements of government or other authorizing entities.

As an ACS-verified trauma center, the Pediatric Trauma Program has been an ACS Surgical Quality Partner through our participation in the national quality benchmarking program. Being a Surgical Quality Partner signifies a hospital's dedication to consistently improving procedures and approaches, while maintaining a critical eye on process at every step. The Surgical Quality Partner designation lets patients know that our Pediatric Trauma Program and BMSCH is dedicated to quality and relentless self-improvement and has been verified or accredited by the ACS. Patients can trust that the care they receive at Surgical Quality Partner hospitals adheres to the most rigorous standards in surgical quality.

Education, research and sharing best practices are central to RWJUH's Level I Adult and Level I Pediatric Trauma Center's mission. Here, Amber Bartol BSN, RN, TCRN, Trauma Educator (left) and Joseph Law BSN, RN, TCRN, Pediatric Trauma Program Manager, share information about the center's Stop the Bleed training program at the NJ Emergency Nurses Association conference.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), an RWJBarnabas Health Facility, is a 724-bed academic medical center in New Brunswick that is New Jersey's largest academic medical center through its deep partnership with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers Cancer Institute. RWJUH is home to the Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center and The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, a nationally-ranked 2025-26 Best Children's Hospital by U.S. News & World Report. RWJUH is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a Best Regional Hospital for 2025-2026 with 19 High Performing Adult Specialties and Conditions. Centers of Excellence include heart and vascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neuroscience, orthopedics, pediatrics and women's health. As one of only three state-certified Level 1 Trauma Centers and the first designated Pediatric Trauma Center in the New Jersey, RWJUH's campus serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness. For more Information visit us online at: https://www.rwjbh.org/newbrunswick

About the American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 88,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. "FACS" designates that a surgeon is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Contact: Peter Haigney
RWJUH Public Relations
(732) 937-8568