NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst Successfully Re-Verified as Level I Trauma Center
Prestigious re-verification from the American College of Surgeons reinforces Elmhurst Hospital’s commitment to providing lifesaving, comprehensive trauma care
Jun 24, 2025
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst today announced its successful re-verification as a Level I Trauma Center — the highest level of trauma care designation available. The reverification by the American College of Surgeons’ (ACS) Committee on Trauma included a site survey of the hospital to confirm it meets the highest levels of institutional performance and patient care capability. This distinction reinforces the hospital’s status as a premier regional resource for the total spectrum of trauma services, from prevention and emergency intervention to recovery and rehabilitation. As a Level I Trauma Center, Elmhurst Hospital maintains 24-hour in-house coverage by trauma surgeons and ensures immediate access to specialists in orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, critical care, radiology, facial trauma, reconstructive surgery, ophthalmology and medical specialties. In addition, the hospital provides comprehensive care for the injured patient’s rehabilitation and psychosocial needs and also serves as a resource for education, research, and injury prevention.
“Congratulations to Elmhurst’s Trauma Team on their fantastic accomplishment of completing the American College of Surgeon’s rigorous re-verification process to maintain our Level 1 Trauma Center designation,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst CEO Dr. Helen Arteaga-Landaverde. “I am enormously appreciative of their hard work and dedication to saving lives. Our community is truly fortunate to have a team so committed to excellence and deeply passionate about ensuring that our underserved community has one of the best Trauma programs in the country.”
“It has been established that patients cared for in an ACS verified trauma center have a lower risk of death and improved quality of life compared to patients treated at non-verified trauma centers,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst Director of Surgery and Trauma Medical Director Dr. George Agriantonis, MD, FACS. “An ACS-verified trauma center provides timely and seamless care to severely injured patients by marshalling an incredible array of resources and specialties, and this capability is always available at all hours of the day or night. Elmhurst Hospital successfully met ALL of the ACS’s stringent criteria to be re-verified for another three years as a Level 1 Trauma Center. I am extremely proud of the commitment and dedication of the entire Elmhurst Hospital family, that enable us to provide the outstanding level of care that our community deserves.”
In addition to providing emergency treatment, the hospital’s trauma program includes:
- Leadership in community injury prevention and public education
- Ongoing professional development and education for trauma team members
- Training for the next generation of trauma care professionals
- A quality assessment and improvement program
- A teaching and research program to innovate and improve trauma care
- A substance use screening and intervention program
- A mental health screening and evaluation program
- Capacity to treat a very high annual volume of severely injured patients
For more information on programs and services at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, please call 718-334-4000. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @elmhursthosp.
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Media Contact: Atiya Butler, Director of External Affairs, 917-319-5167
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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, part of the NYC Health + Hospitals health care system, is the major tertiary care provider in the borough of Queens. The 545-bed hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center, an Emergency Heart Care Station, a Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Receiving Center, a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Center of Excellence, and a 911-Receiving Hospital. It is a premiere health care institution offering exceptional services across a wide range of specialties, including surgery, cardiology, women’s health, pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine, renal services, and mental health care. In the past year alone, the hospital received nearly one million ambulatory care visits and over 140,000 emergency room visits, reflecting its essential role in the community. NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst has been nationally ranked and recognized as a “Best Regional Hospital” by U.S. News & World Report in critical areas such as Heart Failure, Heart Attack, Stroke, Hip Fracture, Maternity, Kidney Failure, Orthopedics, Pneumonia, and COPD.
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
