Pediatric Emergency & Trauma Care at Wellstar Children's Hospital of Georgia

Pediatric Emergency & Trauma Care at Wellstar Children's Hospital of Georgia
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24/7 Emergency & Trauma Care for Children

If your child requires immediate medical attention due to a life-threatening injury or illness, our experts at Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia are here to help—24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Pediatric Emergency Department at Wellstar Children’s provides the highest level of emergency care available to patients from birth to 21 years of age. We are the only dedicated pediatric trauma center in the CSRA, treating more than 30,000 children each year.

Family-centered expert care

Our best-in-class team is made up of board-certified, fellowship-trained pediatric emergency medicine physicians who practice patient- and family-centered care. This means that our doctors and nurses involve you and your family in every decision surrounding your child’s care. Our Pediatric Emergency Department is staffed with Child Life Specialists who help your child understand what is happening while they are with us.

We also work closely and collaboratively with all pediatric subspecialists in at Wellstar Children’s. This direct access gets your child in front of a doctor who is specially trained to provide them with the best care available for their specific condition.

Conditions we treat

If your child is suffering from any serious or life-threatening injury, condition or illness, call 911. Critical conditions that should be seen immediately include:

Altered level or loss of consciousness
Broken bones that have penetrated the skin
Breathing difficulty
Head injury
Cardiac arrhythmias
High fevers in an ill-appearing child
Change in mental status
Poisoning
Seizure
Shock
Serious trauma (motor vehicle accident, pedestrian struck, serious fall, etc.)
Eye injuries
Uncontrolled pain

Our Services

Pediatric Trauma Center

As the region’s only American College of Surgeons-verified Level II Pediatric Trauma Center, our Pediatric Emergency Department is recognized as a facility that provides the highest-quality care to trauma patients. This exceptional level of care extends to the transport of patients, their treatment in the emergency room and rehabilitation after care.

Our Pediatric Emergency Department has facilities that include:

16-bed unit
Two resuscitation bays
Two-bed orthopedic and procedure room
Four rooms that convert into negative pressure rooms for emerging infectious diseases
State-of-the-art equipment, including advanced airway and ultrasound capabilities

If needed, your child can quickly be moved to our Level I Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Wellstar Children’s for further treatment. This designation means we are the highest level PICU referral center for critically ill children or those suffering from trauma in the region.

Specialized Pediatric Emergency Training

We are the only pediatric emergency department in the CSRA staffed by fellowship-trained pediatric emergency medicine physicians. Our physicians have receivedthree additional years of specialized training for:

Trauma stabilization and care
Airway management for sudden asthma attacks or choking
Cardiac issues, including recognizing strange arrhythmias or heart problems after surgery
Laceration and wound care
Sedation for children who need pain management for an injury
Poisoning
Non-accidental injuries
Shock from severe infection, dehydration or bleeding
Fractured and broken bones, as well as dislocation stabilization and care
Neurologic emergencies such as intractable seizures, head injuries and mental status changes
Disaster management

Pediatric Transport Team

If you have a child who needs emergency care, they can be quickly transported to Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia by ambulance or helicopter. Our pediatric transport team serves all hospitals in Georgia and the surrounding area.

During transport, our team provides comprehensive intensive care, monitoring each child based on their individual needs. Every team member has expertise in pediatric critical care and is trained to provide lifesaving emergency care, ventilator support and invasive monitoring. Wellstar Children’s is the only hospital in the region to offer extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment for neonatal and pediatric patients who need lifesaving heart-lung oxygenation.

The team remains in constant contact with the skilled pediatric specialists at Wellstar Children’s while en route to the hospital. When patients arrive, they are brought to our Level I PICU for advanced care.

Wellstar AirCare
Through a partnership with Metro Aviation and Gold Cross EMS, our dedicated Wellstar AirCare helicopter program expands our reach across Georgia and South Carolina and promotes safe, rapid transport for adult and pediatric patients who are critically ill or injured.

Wellstar AirCare partners with Wellstar Children's Hospital of Georgia's Pediatric Transport Team to provide helicopter transport.

Dispatch Protocol
Wellstar AirCare is available for 911 emergency scene response or scene stand-by. Our team coordinates directly with emergency management agencies, first responders and hospitals when Wellstar AirCare services are needed.

We also offer inter-facility transfer requests to Wellstar Children's Hospital of Georgia for pediatric patients or Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center for adult patients. The transfer center arranges transport as appropriate.

Air stand-bys are available by request and will be performed on any stand-by outside of Richmond County.

Contact us
Reach us 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
(706) 721-AIR1 (2471)
[email protected]