New Pediatric Emergency Department
The new Children's Hospital at Scott & White Emergency Department, located at 1901 S.W. H.K. Dodgen Loop in Temple, is designed to address the unique needs of infants, children and adolescents and is equipped to handle all types of emergencies – from minor sprains and strains to major trauma. It’s also the only pediatric-specific emergency department between Dallas and Austin.
- Open 24 hours
- Pediatric experienced emergency caregivers
- 14 exam rooms, including three trauma bays
- Age-specific equipment and medication
- Pediatric trauma surgeons and anesthesiologists
- High-quality advanced imaging, including “Flash" CT scanner
- Separate entrances for walk-in patients and ambulances
- Serving newborns through age 17
How is a pediatric emergency department different?
Sitting in an emergency room, waiting to be seen, can be a difficult task for an adult. But for a child, who doesn’t understand the time and space restraints of a hospital emergency department, it can be unbearable.
Last year Scott & White Heathcare saw 16,000 children in our emergency rooms and cared for nearly 400 children involved in trauma, and that number continues to increase each year.
That is one of the reasons for the creation of the pediatric-specific emergency department in the new Children’s Hospital at Scott & White.
Our new location is equipped to treat all pediatric medical emergencies in children 17 and under. Anytime a child faces an emergency, he should be taken to the new location, which is under the direction of Dominic Lucia, MD, medical director of the new pediatric emergency department.
Children have special age-specific equipment, medication and environmental needs. At the Children's Hospital at Scott & White, our sole focus is the needs of children.
That's why we have:
- Specialized equipment—from beds to blood pressure cuffs—designed just for children
- A new "Flash" CT scanner, one of only three in the country, which takes images at twice the speed and at a lower dose of radiation than other CT units
- Spacious family-friendly rooms designed to better accommodate parents and siblings
- A Child Life team to help children and their families cop with the stress and anxiety of medical treatment in a positive way
While it is true that the doctors, nurses and staff at the main campus are equipped to treat children, it will make for a better overall experience if your child is brought to the emergency department at the children’s hospital.
The facility itself, the staff that was assembled, the medical equipment and the environment, are all tailored towards the pediatric patient. In addition, it is set up to be a good experience for the family as a whole with good communication and good care.
So if parents are worried that their child has something emergent to be evaluated—whether it’s persistent pain, breathing problems, or an injury—the emergency department at the new children’s hospital is the best choice.
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