Overview
The Sam S. and Rose Stein Emergency Care Center at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego is the only emergency care center in the region dedicated to caring for kids and the only Level 1 pediatric trauma center in San Diego County. Each year, there are approximately 86,000 emergency care visits. Services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Emergency medicine services are also provided by our physicians at Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta. Services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If your child needs immediate medical attention and you cannot safely transport your child to the Hospital, please call 911 immediately.
Specially Trained Team
Expert care is provided by the emergency medicine physicians of Rady Children’s Specialists of San Diego, the largest group of board-certified pediatric emergency specialists in San Diego County. As a Division of Rady Children’s Specialists, our physicians have access to and work closely with the full range of pediatric subspecialists, enabling us to provide optimal care. Our specially trained nurses are experienced and skilled in caring for sick and injured children as well.
Research and Teaching
To continuously improve our quality of care, we are actively involved in research on diseases and conditions often seen in emergency care, including asthma, meningitis, appendicitis, Kawasaki disease, and mild traumatic brain injury. Additionally, our Division is a leading teaching program, training the best and brightest physicians here in San Diego and from across the nation. Since 2002, we have had an ACGME-accredited Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellowship, and our physicians have won numerous teaching awards.
For treatment of minor injuries and illnesses, please contact one of our Urgent Care centers.
Telephone Triage Line
- The Triage Telephone Line is a special service offered to families of subscribing physicians.
- Staffed by Rady Children’s pediatric nurses, the line serves as an after-hours service for doctors’ offices, with nurses answering parents’ questions, providing home care instructions and making referrals for care according to each physician’s preference. More than 100 area pediatricians subscribe to this service, which is free for families
Video: Learn about our emergency services from Dr. Keri Carstairs
Division Achievements:
- The Center has recently been remodeled to include an expanded triage area, larger and more comfortable waiting areas, more monitored beds, and more bedside televisions and DVD players for our young patients.
- The Division has added intermediate care physicians to see patients with less acute conditions.
- A Fast Track program has been initiated to improve the triage process, enabling patients to be seen more quickly by a skilled clinician.
- The Division has developed more than 10 medical pathways to ensure that high quality care is always delivered.
- The Center continues to offer the Ambassador program, in which a staff member — serving as a roving “Ambassador”– works with volunteers to provide families with comfort items and other assistance.
In the News
- Aumentan Las Caídas De Niños Por Las Ventanas Durante Las Altas Temperaturas, Univision San Diego, features Mario Bialostozky, MD
- ENA Honors Record 33 Emergency Departments with ENA Lantern Award, PR Newswire, features Rady Children’s Hospital
- Falls from Windows Increasing, 10news, features Matthew Derkrikorian, B.S.N, R.N., CEN, CPEN (Video)
- Why and When San Diegans Must Wear Facial Coverings Beginning May 1, kpbs.org, features Joelle Donofrio-Ödmann, D.O.
- How To Properly And Safely Cover Your Face During Coronavirus Outbreak, kpbs.org, features Joelle Donofrio-Ödmann, D.O.
- Rady Children’s Hospital Adds Plexiglass Protection for Added Safety, 10news.com, features Seema Shah, M.D.
- Global EMS Community Looks to NAEMSP for Medical Director Training, Journal of Emergency Medical Services, features Joelle Donofrio, D.O.
- How to Understand a Dog’s Body Language to Lower Chance of Biting, kusi.com, features Rady Children’s Hospital’s Emergency Room and Urgent Care
- Pit Bull That Attacked Baby Put Down; Infant Badly Hurt, The San Diego Union-Tribune,
- Rady Children’s Hospital Warns Parents on Dog Bite Dangers to Kids, The San Diego Union-Tribune, features trauma nurse Kay Moore.
- Let Patients Write Your Schedule: Innovative Emergency Department Staffing, Children’s Hospital Association, features Keri Carstairs, M.D., and Lisa McDonough R.N.
- Heat Dangers, kusi.com, features Keri Carstairs, M.D. (Video)
- Rady Children’s Expands Emergency Care at Rancho Springs Medical Center, My Valley News, features Heather Conrad, M.D.
Support Our Program
One hundred percent of your tax-deductible gift benefits Rady Children’s.
To donate, click the link below and select Trauma and Emergency Care Programs from the Gift Designation Drop-down menu: