St. Luke’s hospital has just launched Idaho’s first dedicated pediatric trauma program at its Children’s Hospital.

St. Luke’s already has an Emergency Department for children. But the new Pediatric Trauma Program goes a step further.

“Well, children aren’t just little adults, as we like to say at the Children’s Hospital,” says Dr. Kathryn Beattie, the Executive Medical Director at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital.

She says kids have a different anatomy and physiology.

“The way they react to a traumatic injury is very different from an adult. And having specialists who focus on care of the child, and are really attuned to that, is really the first step,” says Dr. Beattie.

Dr. Kendra Bowman specializes in Pediatric Surgery at St. Luke's. Speaking on Idaho Matters, she says at the heart of the new program is a group of medical professionals that have trained together for months.

“There’s a team that looks a lot like a pit crew in a car race. And that team has to function very precisely as a team, know what their roles are, function very quickly to identify injuries and stabilize a child,” says Dr. Bowman.

The Trauma Center has been open since April 15. The team has been activated 23 times so far with severely injured children. St. Luke’s says the children who have been treated so far have done well.

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