Hospitals in multiple states have earned new trauma center designations or secured re-verification in 2026, expanding access to emergency care and reinforcing regional trauma networks.
The designations — awarded by state health departments or the American College of Surgeons — reflect hospitals’ ability to provide rapid stabilization, surgical intervention and coordinated transfers for severely injured patients. Several organizations also marked regional firsts or renewed top-tier level 1 status.
Below are 28 hospitals that received new trauma designations or re-verification since Jan. 1.
Editor’s note: This is not an exhaustive list.
UP Health System-Marquette in Michigan was reverified as a level 2 trauma center by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, continuing 20 years in that designation. It remains the only ACS-verified level 2 trauma center in the Upper Peninsula.
Concord (N.H.) Hospital was reverified as a level 2 trauma center by the American College of Surgeons Committee, one of three hospitals in the state holding that designation.
Lakeland (Fla.) Regional Health Medical Center was designated the 12th level 1 trauma center in Florida by the state health department, a move expected to reduce the need to transfer patients to level 1 centers in Tampa, Orlando or Gainesville.
University Hospital in San Antonio, part of University Health, was reverified as a level 1 trauma center for both its adult and pediatric programs by the American College of Surgeons and redesignated by the Texas Department of State Health Services, effective through July 1, 2029. The hospital remains the only adult and pediatric level 1 trauma center in San Antonio.
Kona (Hawaii) Community Hospital was verified as a level 3 trauma center by the American College of Surgeons, joining Hilo Benioff Medical Center and Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital as the island’s level 3 centers.
Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery, Ala., was designated a level 1 trauma center by the Alabama Department of Public Health, becoming the first and only level 1 trauma center in Central Alabama and one of four in the state.
OhioHealth Pickerington (Ohio) Methodist Hospital was granted level 3-N trauma center status by the American College of Surgeons, becoming the first and only trauma center in Fairfield County after operating under provisional status since September 2024.
PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Wash., completed its triennial adult level 2 trauma designation survey with the Washington State Department of Health Trauma System, placing the hospital among only seven adult level 2 trauma centers statewide.
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Arthur M. Blank Hospital was reverified as a level 1 pediatric trauma center by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma July 13.
Freeman Health System hospitals in Bentonville and Springdale, Ark., earned level 3 trauma center designations from the Arkansas Department of Health July 30, with no deficiencies identified during either survey.
McLaren Macomb in Mount Clemens, Mich., was reverified as a level 2 trauma center by the American College of Surgeons, valid through April 2029. The hospital has held the designation uninterrupted since 2014, when it became the first in Macomb County to earn the status.
UNC Health Pardee in Hendersonville, N.C., was designated a level 3 trauma center following a 12- to 15-month trauma operational window and an onsite review by a state-affiliated evaluator team.
Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center in Las Vegas, part of HCA Healthcare, was designated a level 1 trauma center by the state, advancing from its previous level 2 designation.
Sanford Health in Bismarck, N.D., was verified as a level 2 trauma center by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, recognizing its trauma care capabilities and institutional performance.
Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital and Muma Children’s Hospital at Tampa General were reverified as a level 1 trauma center by the American College of Surgeons through Jan. 29, 2029, maintaining their status as the region’s only ACS-verified level 1 trauma center.
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., was verified as a level 1 pediatric trauma center by the American College of Surgeons.
Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley, Calif., advanced from a level 4 to a provisional level 3 trauma center, expanding access to higher-acuity trauma care and reducing the need for patient transfers.
Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, Conn., was verified as a level 3 trauma center by the American College of Surgeons Feb. 5.
Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville was reverified as a level 1 trauma center by the American College of Surgeons Feb. 4, maintaining its position as one of six nationally verified level 1 centers in Georgia.
Baptist Health Corbin (Ky.) announced its designation as a level 4 trauma center Feb. 2, enabling 24/7 emergency coverage and transfer coordination for critically injured patients.
Oaklawn in Marshall, Mich., was reverified as a level 3 trauma facility by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Jan. 28. The designation is effective through July 2028.
University Medical Center New Orleans became the only hospital in the Gulf South to simultaneously hold three national designations — level 1 trauma center, verified burn center and comprehensive stroke center — effective Jan. 27.
Manning Family Children’s in New Orleans was verified as a level 1 pediatric trauma center by the American College of Surgeons Jan. 26.
UVA Health University Medical Center in Charlottesville, Va. was redesignated as a level 1 adult trauma center by the Virginia Department of Health Jan. 23.
T.J. Samson Community Hospital and T.J. Health Columbia, both part of Glasgow, Ky.-based T.J. Regional Health, earned level 4 trauma center designations Jan. 15. They are the first trauma-designated hospitals in south central Kentucky.
Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, Calif., was reverified as a level 2 trauma center by the American College of Surgeons through July 9, 2027. The hospital serves about 1.7 million people in the San Joaquin Valley.
Madelia (Minn.) Health was designated a level 4 trauma hospital Feb. 16 after completing the Minnesota Department of Health’s review process.
MelroseWakefield Hospital in Massachusetts was designated a level 3 trauma center by the state’s Department of Public Health Jan. 2, 2024, following an external review by the American College of Surgeons.
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