Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford Reverified as a Level I Trauma Center

Packard Children’s retains the highest level of pediatric trauma care verification from the American College of Surgeons

Sept. 22, 2026

PALO ALTO, Calif.—Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and Stanford Health Care have been reverified as a Level I pediatric and adult trauma center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Level I is the highest level of trauma center verification.

The renewal recognizes Packard Children’s Hospital’s commitment to providing comprehensive, around-the-clock care for children with the most serious injuries. It follows an on-site ACS review of the program’s surgeons, specialists, multidisciplinary team, and facilities, including:

• A Pediatric Intensive Care Unit equipped to meet the specialized needs of children with serious illness or injury.
• Radiology and interventional radiology services for rapid diagnosis and hemorrhage control.
• A full range of surgical subspecialists promptly available at all hours.

Packard Children’s is one of only six pediatric trauma centers in California to receive Level I verification from the ACS. Together, the pediatric and adult trauma centers at Stanford Medicine treat more than 3,700 patients annually, serving patients as far north as the California-Oregon border and as far south as Bakersfield.

The ACS review highlighted the program’s notable strengths:

• Highly specialized pediatric critical care.
• Around-the-clock emergency surgical readiness.
• Integration with adult trauma colleagues, particularly in disaster and mass-casualty preparedness.

“This reverification is a multidisciplinary accomplishment that reflects the dedication of our clinical teams to caring for critically injured children and teens,” said Stephanie Chao, MD, medical director of the Pediatric Trauma Program at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. “From the moment a patient arrives and throughout recovery, our specialists are committed to providing family-centered, around-the-clock care tailored to each child’s needs.”

The ACS report described Dr. Chao as an experienced national leader in pediatric trauma and called her firearm injury-prevention research and work exceptional. The report also praised the collaboration between pediatric and adult trauma surgeons.

“This reverification recognizes the essential, collaborative work of pediatric trauma care,” said Deborah Hsu, MD, the division chief of Stanford Pediatric Emergency Medicine. “Our pediatric emergency medicine team is proud to work closely with trauma and pediatric surgery along with other partners across the health system to deliver rapid, child-centered care that consistently meets the highest standards.”

In its overall assessment, the ACS noted that Packard Children’s is committed to providing high-quality care for injured children in Northern California and cited the fact that there were no patient transfers out during the reporting year as a notable accomplishment.

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford’s Level I pediatric trauma center verification is valid through May 14, 2029. The aim of the American College of Surgeons is to raise the standards of surgical education and practice and to improve the care of surgical patients.