Burn Specialists at Children's Hospital Colorado

The Burn Team at Children's Hospital Colorado consists of specially trained staff from a variety of disciplines working together to expertly manage and treat all aspects of your child’s burn or skin injury.

See a list of our burn specialists.

Your Care Team

Surgeons

The Burn Team includes one burn surgeon and one plastic surgeon, both of whom are board certified and expertly trained. The attending trauma surgeon on-call provides a portion of the initial surgical coverage. Your child may see a pediatric surgery resident, who assists surgeons during clinic visits, during evaluations in the emergency department, during surgical procedures or while caring for your child in the hospital. 

Nurses

Burn Team nurses work with you and your child to teach you about the many issues that follow a burn injury, including wound-care issues.  The nurses will see your child in the inpatient and outpatient settings.  The nurses have additional training in care of pediatric patients, as well as advanced burn life support. 

Medical Technician

The Medical Technician will assist with burn wound care for children while they are in the hospital and when they are seen by the burn team in the clinic.  The medical technician has additional training in advanced burn life support care. 

Social Worker

A social worker will provide psychosocial assessments, intervention and support for burn patients and their families. Services include coordination and referral to community resources, child protection concerns, school related issues and other supportive services as needed.   

Psychologist

A psychologist, who is a faculty member of the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine and specializes in pediatric burn injuries and rehabilitation needs, serves a consultant to the burn team.  The board certified psychologist provides patients and families assistance in coping with psychological effects of a burn injury. This includes consultation, psychological assessment, treatment of behavior problems, psychological adjustment, post-traumatic stress disorders and pain management.

Therapeutic Recreation/Child Life Specialist

A specialist will provide your child with play and recreation activities to help him or her express feelings, explore body image, understand treatments and restore functional skills. During wound care and other medical procedures, the therapist provides interventions to help your child manage his or her stress/pain, and helps your child to understand the need for the procedure. The specialist provides developmentally appropriate play and recreation activities to promote normalization and focus patients on their strengths.

Therapists

The Burn Team's occupational (OT) and physical therapists (PT) are specially trained in pediatrics and burn care.   The OT’s are also certified hand therapists.  Through continual reassessment and timely interventions the OT and PT’s goal is to provide rehabilitation to allow for the best possible outcome. The burn therapist has comprehensive knowledge of the wound healing process and its impact on function, growth and development. Interventions may include therapeutic activities to improve mobility or to avoid contractures such as:  splinting, casting, positioning, passive and active range of motion exercises as well as developmentally appropriate play and daily living skills to restore the independence for motility, self-care and leisure skills. 

Reintegration to home, school and community activities is an integral part of the rehabilitation process.  The rehabilitation of a child who has suffered a burn injury requires a comprehensive treatment plan which includes techniques to avoid contracture, interventions to improve strength and endurance, and interventions for scar management. Scar management interventions include massage, pressure garments, inserts, as well as a dynamic home exercise program to support their rehabilitation needs. 

Clinical Dietitian

Clinical dieticians ensure patients receive the nutritional requirements while in the hospital, which helps to promote healing.

Special Support and Consulting Personnel

The burn team consults with other specialty services at Children's Hospital Colorado as needed for individualized patient needs, including the Pain Team, Ophthalmology, Critical Care Team, Pulmonology, Rehabilitation and Infectious Disease.