Jersey Shore University Medical Center Receives Verification as the Only Level II Pediatric Trauma Center in Shore Region

The Trauma Center at Hackensack Meridian Health Jersey Shore University Medical Center has been verified as a Level II Pediatric Trauma Center by the Verification Review Committee (VRC), an ad hoc committee of the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This achievement recognizes the Trauma Center's dedication to providing optimal care for pediatric patients who experience a traumatic event, such as motor vehicle accidents, falls, sports injuries, drowning, or physical assault. It expands upon the Level II Trauma Center designation already held by the medical center.

Jersey Shore University Medical Center is the only hospital in Monmouth and Ocean counties, and the eastern part of New Jersey to earn this elite designation. It is one of only three hospitals in the state with Level II Pediatric Trauma Center verification.

“We are continuously elevating the level of care and services offered to our community, and this demonstrates our team’s commitment to provide the region with the most advanced life-saving measures for children,” says Kenneth N. Sable, M.D., MBA, FACEP, president of Jersey Shore University Medical Center and K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital. “It is a privilege to care for children and families affected by trauma. Pediatric patients have unique needs, very different from adults, which our physicians and team are specifically qualified to address.”

To achieve Level II Pediatric Trauma Center verification, the hospital underwent an on-site review by a team of experienced site reviewers from the VRC. Surveyors confirmed that the Trauma Center has demonstrated its commitment to providing the highest quality trauma care for all injured patients, as well as the entire spectrum of care to address the needs of all injured patients.

“Jersey Shore University Medical Center’s Trauma Center has addressed the shore region’s most critical cases by treating life-threatening injuries around-the-clock,” says Nasim Ahmed, M.D., chief of Trauma at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. “Our team is honored to have expanded our community’s access to life-saving trauma care for critically injured pediatric patients. We celebrate the dedication of our entire hospital team in achieving this milestone.”

Requirements for pediatric trauma center verification include having experts with pediatric training in areas such as:

24/7 in-house coverage by a trauma surgeon

24/7 access to specialty and non-specialty surgeons and physicians

24/7 on-call neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons

24/7 on-site anesthesia provider, surgical services team and trauma trained nurses

Additionally, the trauma center must have comprehensive programs which support the physical and emotional needs of pediatric patients. Level II Pediatric Trauma Center verification enhances services provided by K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. As the most comprehensive provider of pediatric care in the region, the children’s hospital ensures seamless access to surgical care when needed and coordinated care through the pediatric intensive care unit, medical/surgical unit, Child Life services, and rehabilitation services for a full continuum of care.

“Pediatric trauma cases differ greatly from adult trauma cases, and our dedicated pediatric team is uniquely trained to care for a wide variety of complex trauma injuries,” says Victoriya Staab, M.D., medical director of Pediatric Trauma for Jersey Shore University Medical Center. “Surgeons, nurses and other medical professionals affiliated with Jersey Shore’s trauma program are specially trained to work with kids and their unique medical needs, which vary based on size, maturity and development.”

Jersey Shore University Medical Center’s trauma team treats more than 1,600 trauma cases each year. The team is comprised of physicians, physician assistants, program managers, nurses, registrars, technicians, an injury prevention coordinator and pediatric trauma services. These individuals are on-site 24/7 and are committed to caring for the community at the time of a crisis, as well as offering prevention and research efforts. The trauma team offers extensive community outreach, teaching people how to avoid injuries from happening.

To learn more about the Trauma Center at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, visit www.JerseyShoreUniversityMedicalCenter.com

ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH

Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care.

Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 16 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children’s hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals - Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, and Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.

Additionally, the network has more than 450 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has 33,000 team members, and 6,500 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.

The network’s notable distinctions include having one of only five major academic medical centers in the nation to receive Healthgrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award for five or more consecutive years, four hospitals among the top 10 in New Jersey by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Award for Patient Safety and Quality from The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum, a six-time recipient of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” one of the “20 Best Workplaces in Health Care” in the nation, and the number one “Best Place to Work for Women.” The network was also named to Becker’s Healthcare’s “150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare/2018” list.

The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its first class of 60 students from a pool of more than 2,100 applicants in 2018 to the On3 campus in Nutley and Clifton.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Hackensack Meridian Health formed a partnership that brings together two world-class organizations with deep New Jersey roots and a single goal: Finding more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it. To achieve this goal, the new Memorial Sloan Kettering-Hackensack Meridian Health partnership will combine both organizations’ unparalleled expertise in all areas of cancer care and research as well as their commitment to excellence, to accelerate new discoveries and improve the lives of patients they jointly serve while training a new generation of leaders in the field.

Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.

For additional information, please visit www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org.