When a child needs emergency care, Norton Children’s Emergency Medicine, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, has the expertise, technology and facilities to give children and teens the quality care they deserve.

Norton Children’s has three pediatric emergency department locations to provide trauma and emergency care designed “Just for Kids.” Each of our locations offers 24-hour emergency services and features equipment and facilities to provide care for children from newborns to age 21.

Norton Children’s Hospital has been verified as Pediatric Ready by the Kentucky Pediatric Emergency Care Coalition.  This means that our downtown Louisville emergency department has the proper policies, processes, staff and equipment to effectively treat children.

Norton Children’s Hospital Is a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center

Norton Children’s Hospital is the region’s only full-service, free-standing pediatric hospital and the only Level I Pediatric Trauma Center in Louisville. Being a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center means the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma certifies that Norton Children’s Hospital can provide the best care for the most severely injured children 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our emergency department has board-certified, fellowship-trained emergency medicine physicians and pediatric trauma surgeons in the hospital 24/7, as well as trauma-certified staff.

Accredited Clinical Ultrasound Services at Norton Children’s Hospital

Point-of-care ultrasound is when an emergency medicine physician uses an ultrasound machine at the patient’s bedside to assess a patient’s status as quickly as possible. This technology can help physicians create a care plan faster, which can help critically ill children get treatment as quickly as possible. Additionally, this can shorten time spent in the emergency department.

Physicians also may use ultrasound to help with certain procedures, such as nerve blocks, to help children with certain injuries get pain relief. Point-of-care ultrasound is not a replacement for cardiology care or any additional radiology imaging a child may need. This bedside imaging simply helps emergency medicine physicians assess a child in a quick and efficient manner.

Norton Children’s Hospital’s emergency department is accredited by the American College of Emergency Physicians’ Clinical Ultrasound Accreditation Program (CUAP). This accreditation reviews emergency departments on quality, patient safety, communication, responsibility and imaging clarity of point-of-care ultrasound. Currently, Norton Children’s Hospital is only the second free-standing children’s hospital in the U.S. to receive the accreditation.

Compassionate Emergency Care for Children and Their Families

Norton Children’s facilities staff child life therapists who provide support for children and families during their stay. Child life therapists have training in child development, psychology and counseling. They help children understand a diagnosis or procedure by explaining in age-appropriate words and concepts.

Certified child life therapists are available at our three emergency department locations. We also have facility dogs at two of our locations. Research shows that having full-time facility dogs has many benefits for patients and families. They can help reduce anxiety, which may help patients recover faster. Sometimes it’s providing emotional comfort by lying at the foot of a child’s hospital bed or sitting by their side before a procedure. The dogs also can help with physical recovery by encouraging kids to get out of bed, walk and play.

Collaboration With UofL School of Medicine for Your Child’s Care

Our providers offer highly skilled care for your child. Norton Children’s Hospital serves as the primary pediatric teaching facility for the University of Louisville School of Medicine. These doctors are professors and active researchers helping to advance medical care through clinical research and education.

Why Norton Children’s for Emergency Care?

• “Just for Kids” Transport Team provides access to Norton Children’s Hospital through fixed-wing, helicopter and ground transportation.
• Norton Children’s Hospital is the region’s only full-service, free-standing pediatric hospital.
• Norton Children’s Hospital is the only Level I Pediatric Trauma Center in Louisville. The emergency department treats approximately 60,000 children each year. The staff is trauma certified, and nurses have pediatric advanced life support certification.
• Norton Children’s Medical Center in northeastern Jefferson County on the Norton Brownsboro Hospital campus has a 24/7 pediatric emergency department with 16 treatment rooms, four sedation rooms typically used for diagnostic imaging, and a dedicated radiology suite. The medical center is staffed with the same emergency medicine providers as Norton Children’s Hospital.
• Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital provides children’s pediatric emergency care, along with diagnostic imaging and testing capabilities, for children.
• Kentucky Poison Control Center of Norton Children’s Hospital provides a hotline staffed with nurses, physicians and pharmacists available to answer questions and respond to emergencies involving possible poisoning 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• Certified child life therapists are available at our three locations to help children and families navigate the stress of a diagnosis or hospital stay.
• The Heal, Dog, Heel facility dog program has dogs available for patients at Norton Children’s Hospital and Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital.