Tufts Medical Center Emergency Department + Trauma Center

A top-rated trauma center in Boston

You just don’t have to take our word for it, though. We are one of a small, elite group of trauma centers with a Level 1 Trauma Center designation by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the highest possible rating. During a rigorous evaluation by the ACS, our Tufts MC trauma surgery team demonstrated the ability to superbly address all the needs of the critically injured or ill. 

Our trauma surgeons are at the top of their fields, with superior ratings in resuscitation, evaluation, emergency surgical intervention and medical treatment. But it is far more than just a title, patients treated at Level 1 trauma centers on average have a 25% higher rate of survival.

An 8-bed Express Care Unit provides rapid treatment of patients with minor complaints, usually resulting in discharge within 90 minutes of registration.

The Acute Care Unit offers a spacious and modern facility to treat acute medical, surgical, gynecological or traumatic illnesses. Every room in the emergency department is equipped with central monitoring capabilities so that full resuscitation can be performed on a patient of any age, from newborn to senior. The facility includes a dedicated head and neck room complete with a standard dental chair and dental X-ray unit, a dedicated ophthalmology room and 4 critical care rooms with 8 beds specifically designed for those who are the sickest.

The Pediatric Emergency Department offers a designated area for the treatment of children, staffed by pediatric house officers, pediatric emergency nurses and child life specialists, and is supervised by on-site attending pediatrician.

A 6-bay Extended Care Unit further complements the space for adult patients requiring extended observation periods. A 2-room X-ray suite is located within the department, offering plain, tomogram and panorex radiography with helical CT and MRI availability within the Medical Center. Emergency Department (ED) bedside ultrasonography is available within the department. Finally, the ambulance bay is designed to be transformed into a decontamination facility, complete with a hot shower and a 900-gallon holding tank for contaminated waste and compliments the ED’s portable decontamination shelter that can be erected within 5 minutes. 

A computerized tracking system helps monitor the location of all patients and keeps communication from referring physicians linked to the patient. An extensive electronic medical record is used throughout the emergency department and the same system is used to fax information back to referring physicians, providing them with information about your visit.

Tufts MC has a rooftop helipad that provides easy access to the ED and critical care units for patients transported by air.