Trauma Center
Our Approach
The Trauma Center at Providence Mission Hospital is South Orange County's only American College of Surgeon's verified adult and pediatric Level II trauma center. Our specialized team treats trauma injuries for patients of all ages. Trauma injuries are the leading cause of death among patients aged 1 to 44 years in most developed countries, making comprehensive emergency trauma care an essential asset to our community.
The award-winning team at Providence Mission exclusively treats trauma-related injuries. We provide a continuum of care from the moment a trauma patient passes through our doors, administering life-saving treatments within the “golden hour”—the first hour following the injury.
As part of our specialized care approach, a trauma nurse is assigned to each patient, caring for that patient from the moment they arrive until they are admitted or discharged from the trauma bay. In order to ensure continuity of care, the trauma team—consisting of surgeons, nurse practitioners, and nurses—follows each patient throughout their stay. In addition, patients requiring assistance post-discharge may seek follow-up treatment through our trauma clinic.
View Our Annual Trauma ReportDo you have a question? Reach out to our team
- Anabella Anderson, MSN, RN, CCRN, TCRN, Trauma Program Manager
- Nicole Miller, MSN, RN, TCRN, Pediatric Trauma Program Manager
- Georginne Mercado, Trauma Injury Prevention Coordinator
As a Level II Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center, Providence Mission Hospital is prepared to address the most critical cases immediately, maintaining everything necessary to treat life-threatening injuries around-the-clock. Our dedicated trauma specialists handle roughly 4,000 adult and pediatric traumas each year in our Gotschall Family Trauma Pavilion. We are here to care for your entire family.
We provide a continuum of care from admission to discharge, which includes:
- Anesthesia
- Cardiothoracic surgery
- Critical care
- Education
- ENT surgery
- Gastrointestinal surgery
- General or trauma surgery
- Genitourinary surgery
- Gynecology
- Maxillofacial surgery
- Neurosurgery
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopedic surgery
- Pharmacology
- Plastic surgery
- Radiology
- Rehabilitation services
- Vascular surgery
At Providence Mission Hospital, we meet the highest national standards, as outlined by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS-COT) and the strict requirements of the Health Care Agency of the County of Orange. We are committed to provide the initial evaluation and definitive care for Orange County trauma patients, no matter how severe the injury.
No parent wants to think about their child experiencing a traumatic injury. But if it happens, everyone wants the best medical care in a child-focused facility that's close to home. That's why we partnered with CHOC Children's Hospital to develop CHOC Children’s at Mission, the only Pediatric Level II Trauma Center in South Orange County and north San Diego County.
It’s critical to receive treatment within the "golden hour," or the first hour after receiving a trauma injury. Pediatric trauma patients require a comprehensive and inclusive approach to care that also addresses the unique needs of injured children. The Providence Mission Pediatric Trauma Team is comprised of award-winning nurses, surgeons, and technicians, ready to get little ones back on their feet.
CHOC Children's at Mission is a 54-bed facility that operates as a separately licensed pediatric center and Level II Pediatric Trauma Center with its own medical staff, including:
- Pediatric subspecialists
- Registered nurses
- Child-life specialists
- Hospitalists and neonatologists on site 24 hours a day
- A 24-bed medical/surgical unit for children who need to be hospitalized while receiving care for an illness, injury, or surgery
- An 8-bed pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) providing the highest level of care for critically ill and injured children
As a verified American College of Surgeons Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center, Providence Mission Hospital provides the best pediatric trauma care possible for patients, from newborns to adults. We focus on providing exceptional treatment and family-oriented care to help families get back to enjoying life together.
A trauma patient's first line of care often comes from the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers transporting them to the hospital. A seamless transition from ambulance to our trauma bay is critical to every patient.
Providence Mission Hospital has developed strong relationships with all EMS providers throughout South Orange County over the past 40 years. As a result, we continue to see efficient communication and improved outcomes when patients need us most.
The Providence Mission trauma team actively participates in the Regional Emergency Advisory Committee (REAC) meetings. During these meetings, we educate and take part in open discussions with the pre-hospital providers who serve our community. This commitment to strengthening our relationships with EMS providers shows in the patient experience.
Providence Mission Hospital is active in the Orange County disaster plan and takes part in hospital-wide training to ensure disaster readiness. The trauma program has assisted in hospital-wide disaster training to ensure frontline caregivers are prepared to manage disaster when it strikes.
Our trauma team provides unparalleled care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The trauma team is comprised of trauma surgeons, surgical specialists of all disciplines, specialized trauma nurse clinicians trained in trauma assessment and treatment, and support from ancillary departments, such as radiology, lab, and surgical care.
The trauma team is available to perform needed tests for prompt injury assessment and treatment.
We believe that the best way to treat trauma injuries is to prevent them from happening in the first place. With almost 40 years of history as an accredited adult and pediatric Level II Trauma Center, Providence Mission Hospital is familiar with the injuries that our community experiences. Because the health and wellbeing of the South Orange County community is important to us, we provide ongoing public education and resources to improve injury prevention for patients of all ages.
We take a data-driven approach to understand our community’s greatest needs. We leverage our trauma registry to track the leading causes and contributing factors to our patients’ trauma injuries. Then we create programs that address upstream issues for those most vulnerable.
Our Approach
The Trauma Center at Providence Mission Hospital is South Orange County's only American College of Surgeon's verified adult and pediatric Level II trauma center. Our specialized team treats trauma injuries for patients of all ages. Trauma injuries are the leading cause of death among patients aged 1 to 44 years in most developed countries, making comprehensive emergency trauma care an essential asset to our community.
The award-winning team at Providence Mission exclusively treats trauma-related injuries. We provide a continuum of care from the moment a trauma patient passes through our doors, administering life-saving treatments within the “golden hour”—the first hour following the injury.
As part of our specialized care approach, a trauma nurse is assigned to each patient, caring for that patient from the moment they arrive until they are admitted or discharged from the trauma bay. In order to ensure continuity of care, the trauma team—consisting of surgeons, nurse practitioners, and nurses—follows each patient throughout their stay. In addition, patients requiring assistance post-discharge may seek follow-up treatment through our trauma clinic.
View Our Annual Trauma ReportDo you have a question? Reach out to our team
- Anabella Anderson, MSN, RN, CCRN, TCRN, Trauma Program Manager
- Nicole Miller, MSN, RN, TCRN, Pediatric Trauma Program Manager
- Georginne Mercado, Trauma Injury Prevention Coordinator
As the only Level II adult and pediatric trauma center in South Orange County, Providence Mission Hospital knows just how important it is to wear a helmet. That’s why our trauma team launched a free helmet giveaway program in November 2021 to make it even easier for the children in our community to stay safe.
Wearing the right helmet and protective gear while riding any sort of recreational wheeled device, like a bike, e-bike, skateboard or roller skates, lowers the risk of serious head injuries by nearly 70 percent.
In addition to handing out helmets at community events across the region, the multi-sport black helmets are available in the Mission Viejo campus gift shop at no cost for kids between 2 and 17 years old on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. With guidance from our volunteers, parents will size their child to ensure they receive the perfect fit. Each fitting takes approximately 15 minutes.
The Save the Brain program, fully funded by the Providence Mission Hospital Foundation, is just another way we hope to make our community safer.
For more than 23 years, Providence Mission Hospital has partnered with the South County Municipal Court system and OneOC to offer the Youth Alcohol & Deterrence program. This four-part program employs a reality-based experience, with the goal of re-directing offenders who demonstrate a tendency towards unlawful acts or potentially harmful behaviors.
The Youth Alcohol and Drug Deterrence Program has been instrumental in reducing the rate of multiple offenses from over 35% down to 1.4%. In Orange County, we have seen a 21% drop in drivers age 21+ involved in drug and alcohol-related fatal and injury crashes and a 22% drop among drivers 15-20 years old.
For more than 10 years, the Providence Mission trauma team has assisted with two California Youth Services programs: Juvenile Alcohol & Drug Education (JADE) and the Alternative to Suspension Program. These programs provide preventative education and open discussions about the medical issues we see in our trauma bays.
California Youth Services is a multi-service nonprofit organization with the mission of providing a variety of programs and services that include education, prevention, intervention, assessment, and counseling. Our goal is to assist and support adolescents, individuals, couples, and families to address life's challenges, specializing in issues related to school or learning troubles, substance abuse, delinquent behavior, mental health struggles, and families in crisis.
For more than 10 years, the Providence Mission trauma team has assisted with two California Youth Services Uncontrolled bleeding is the number-one cause of preventable death from trauma. In 2015, Stop the Bleed was launched by the White House to teach clear, uncomplicated actions to control the bleeding of an injured person when medical help is unavailable.
As a Level II adult-and-pediatric Trauma Center, we believe in the need for public education, so we became advocates of the Stop the Bleed program. Each month, the Providence Mission Hospital trauma team offers a free Stop the Bleed class and has presented this class to several community groups, including:
- School districts
- City councils
- CERT groups
- General Public
According to the CDC, one in every three adults aged 65 or older falls and 2 million are treated in emergency departments for fall-related injuries every year. Of these patients, around 50% of those who sustain a fracture do not fully recover. Many lose independence for life.
Providence Mission Hospital recognizes the link between senior fall prevention and trauma, and we have a strong association with the Orange County Office on Aging to provide education and resources to our senior population. Through this partnership, Providence Mission has brought A Matter of Balance, a nationally recognized, evidence-based program, to South Orange County seniors.
Providence Mission Hospital is committed to providing life-saving care to trauma patients, and our trauma care specialists constantly work to improve how we treat trauma injuries. One way we meet this commitment is by maintaining a robust trauma data registry.
A trauma registry is an encrypted database that allows the tracking of trauma patient data from trauma care centers across the country. This includes, but is not limited to, patient demographics, specific injury of patient, treatment received, length of hospitalization and outcome of the treatments received.
Our trauma registry not only preserves vital information, but it also allows us to improve by:
- Enabling the extraction of statistics
- Allowing review of trends
- Identifying system weaknesses
- Guiding performance-improvement opportunities
- Allowing the physicians to reference how injuries are treated for best patient outcomes
Providence Mission submits data to the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) - the largest trauma database in the U.S. As a member of the ACS Committee on Trauma, Providence Mission also participates in the Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP), which provides a network of data information that drives measures of care, and assists in developing the best practice guidelines for the trauma community. Some of the data points include tracking the management of traumatic brain injuries; blood product delivery; and open fracture practice management. TQIP also looks closely at multiple other data points, compares hospitals against like centers to measure consistency in care, and delivers quarterly reports. The data helps trauma centers deliver the best care, and is also used to educate our community on injury prevention.
Providence Mission Hospital actively communicates with the other three designated Orange County trauma centers to share best practices and improve care for the entire county. Providence Mission maintains membership in the Orange County Trauma Program Manager Collaborative, which focuses on:
- Injury prevention
- Trauma registry initiatives/data management
- Quality improvement for trauma care across the continuum
Awards & Recognition
For more than 40 years, the Providence Mission Hospital Trauma Center has provided award-winning, patient-focused care to South Orange County and north San Diego patients. We are committed to bringing trauma patients of all ages back to enjoying their lives. And that commitment hasn't gone unnoticed. Our adult and pediatric Level II Trauma Center has been nationally recognized by multiple organizations for our quality of care.
Nurses are critical members of our trauma care team. They provide a continuum of care from the moment patients are admitted until they are discharged. Each trauma nurse has an extensive background in critical care nursing in either the surgical intensive care unit or emergency department. And their commitment to our patients and to their continued education has been nationally recognized.
- Magnet Recognition Program® Designation - American Nurses Credentialing Center's (AANC)
- 2019 Best Practice in Trauma-Nursing Care - American Nurses Credentialing Center's (AANC)
Find a Doctor
At Providence, you'll have access to a vast network of dedicated and compassionate providers who offer personalized care by focusing on treatment, prevention and health education.
