HAMPTON ROADS, Va. – Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD) has been designated as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center by the Virginia Commissioner of Health, M. Norman Oliver, MD.

CHKD earned provisional status as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center in September of 2017. In July 2018, a multidisciplinary Health Department team conducted a follow-up site visit to verify the hospital’s adherence to Virginia trauma center standards. During the provisional period, CHKD’s trauma team cared for almost 600 trauma patients. The follow-up site visit resulted in unanimous recommendation for approval from all reviewers.

“This achievement represents years of collaboration and hard work for CHKD’s clinical and administrative leaders,” says Buzz Heidt, chair of CHKD Health System’s Board of Directors, “and is another confirmation of the organization’s long-standing commitment to expand its programs and services to meet the needs of children in our region.”

“Children deserve medical care that addresses all of their unique physical, developmental and psychological needs,” says CHKD President and CEO, Jim Dahling. “We’re grateful that the State recognizes our ability to care for the most severely injured pediatric patients and to address all aspects of accidental injury, from prevention through rehabilitation.”

CHKD is the only freestanding children’s hospital in Virginia and serves the medical and surgical needs of children throughout greater Hampton Roads, the Eastern Shore of Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. The not-for-profit CHKD Health System operates primary care pediatric practices, surgical practices, multi-service health centers, urgent care centers and satellite offices throughout its service region.