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Injury is the leading cause of death in children aged 1 to 14 years, and receiving care at a trauma center has been shown to improve survival for severely injured patients. These authors inventoried pediatric trauma centers in the U.S. in 2008 and analyzed access to such centers for children younger than 15 years. The authors verified an institution’s status as a pediatric trauma center with national and state accrediting societies, state and local authorities, and trauma directors.
The systematic inventory identified 170 verified pediatric trauma centers in 41 states and an average of 1 center per 358,000 children. About 72% of children lived within 60 minutes of a pediatric trauma center by ground or air transportation; only 43% lived with…