Pediatric Emergency Department

1 Robert Wood Johnson Place
New Brunswick, NJ 08901

(732) 418-8173
get Directions and parking info

If your child needs emergency care, please call 911 immediately.

Advanced Emergency Care in a Child and Family Centered Environment

When children have emergency medical needs, they require specialized skill and compassionate care. That’s what they’ll find in the Pediatric Emergency Department at The Bristol Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital (BMSCH) at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) — every hour of every day.

Unlike many other emergency rooms or urgent care clinics, our Emergency Department is staffed 24/7 with board-certified pediatric emergency physicians and pediatricians.

We are equipped to treat a wide range of pediatric medical problems for patients from infancy through age 20.

As the first American College of Surgeons (ACS)-verified Pediatric Trauma Center in New Jersey, BMSCH/RWJUH is the state’s resource for the care of injured children in our region.

We offer a warm, friendly, child-centered atmosphere designed to ease patients’ fears and treat their issues urgently. Our Pediatric Emergency Department features:

• Specially trained pediatric emergency department nurses and technicians
• Child life specialists who ease children’s fears and make them feel secure
• In-department radiology services
• In-department ultrasound services
• Sports medicine evaluation
• Moderate sedation service

Having x-ray and ultrasound services right in the Emergency Department greatly decreases the amount of time children have to spend here. Other hospitals may need to send the children to departments outside the Emergency Department for these services.

For those with sports injuries, BMSCH has partnered with the Sports Medicine division of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School's Department of Family Medicine to ensure care coordination between emergency doctors, sports medicine specialists and pediatric orthopedists – and to see that these injured children are referred to sports medicine specialists within 48 hours.

Our moderate sedation service sets us apart from other emergency departments. With moderate sedation, we are able to perform painful procedures, such as fracture reduction or wound repairs, right in the Emergency Department without hospitalization. Children can come in with a bad fracture or injury, have it repaired and go right home; often no visit to the operating room is necessary!

Advanced Emergency Care Exclusively for Children

Though adults and children arrive at the hospital through the same emergency entrance, children are treated in a separate Pediatric Emergency Department adjacent to the adult Emergency Department that is specially designed to meet the needs of children and their families.

Unveiled in 2018, the space has been thoughtfully designed to maximize our patients’ comfort, increase efficiency and reduce wait times.

Most children are brought in by their parents in cars rather than by ambulance, so the Pediatric Emergency Department is located near the front entrance of the Emergency Department. The space features:

• Seventeen large, private treatment bays with chairs to accommodate family or friends who accompany patients
• Three treatment bays specially designed to support patients with behavioral health needs
• An isolation room for patients who may have contagious illnesses
• A colorful and interactive sensory room designed to soothe children with autism or special needs

Breadth of Services

For the most seriously injured children who arrive at the Emergency Department, we provide the sophisticated services of an ACS-designated Pediatric Trauma Center, which include pediatric surgeons from all specialties at BMSCH who are available at a moment’s notice to perform surgery on critically ill patients. The range of specialties available includes:

• Anesthesia
• Ear, nose and throat
• Neurosurgery
• Ophthalmology
• Orthopedics
• Pediatric intensive care
• Plastic surgery
• Radiology/ interventional radiology
• Rehabilitation medicine

The Pediatric Emergency Department also provides care for less serious, non-life-threatening injuries. Equipped to handle any injury, at any time of day, the staff of the Pediatric Emergency Department are ready to care for your child.

We will always care for patients with emergency medical problems, even if they cannot pay. You will not be asked to pay before receiving emergency care. Bills will be issued after services are provided.

What Does It Mean to Be an ACS-Verified Pediatric Trauma Center?

Being designated by the ACS as a Pediatric Trauma Center means our emergency department provides medical care that is continually available, compassionate, family-centered, up-to-date, and spans the entire trauma spectrum, from emergency medical services (EMS) responders in the field through pediatric trauma resuscitation, critical care, and recovery, including pediatric rehabilitation at Children’s Specialized Hospital.

The ACS Committee on Trauma’s verification program confirms that a trauma center has demonstrated its commitment to providing the highest quality trauma care for all injured patients from the pre-hospital phase through the rehabilitation process, as well as injury prevention and trauma education.

The designation means that RWJUH’s quality care spans the entire pediatric trauma spectrum from EMS response through pediatric trauma resuscitation, critical care and recovery. It shows that we meet high standards in areas such as:

• Nurses with advanced training in pediatric trauma care
• Pediatric transport
• Child Life and family support
• Pediatric social work services
• Child protective services
• Pediatric injury prevention
• Community outreach
• Education of health professionals

More Information

• How it works — Learn about the four steps we follow to properly care for pediatric patients who come to the hospital for emergency care.
• How to pay — Learn more about paying for your visit including information about online bill pay, Charity Care and other payment assistance resources.

For more information about the Pediatric ED at BMSCH/RWJUH, please call (732) 418-8173.