Burn Care

Our Burn Center is the only program in the state of Colorado dedicated to treating pediatric burn patients and providing burn prevention education. The program was established in 1974 to treat all aspects of burn or skin injury in babies, kids and teens, including rehabilitation and scar reconstruction. Our burn care team is here to treat and help you and your family through what can be a difficult experience.

Why choose Children’s Hospital Colorado for burn care?

We involve the family in all aspects of healing. For example, we encourage parents to be a part of their child’s dressing changes and we provide a social worker who can help a sibling cope with a brother or sister’s injury. A certified child life or therapeutic recreation specialist will guide your child through difficult procedures.

Specific conditions we treat

• Thermal burns caused by flames, heat contact and scalding
• Electrical burns
• Chemical injuries
• Freezing injuries
• Traumatic wounds 
• Purpura fulmanins (hemorrhagic skin condition)
• Pyoderma gangrenosum (ulcerating skin condition)
• Intravenous infiltration
• Exfoliative dermatoses, including  erythema multiforme, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis syndrome (TENS), phemphigus and scaled skin syndrome

Services we offer

Outpatient clinics with a multidisciplinary team of experts

Each outpatient clinic provides patients access to the entire burn team, including a burn surgeon, surgical resident, occupational therapist, physical therapist, therapeutic recreation/child life specialist, psychologist, social worker and nursing staff, who offer evaluation and management of wounds/scars and functional assessments for rehabilitation.

Family-centered care where parents are our partners

Parents are continuously involved in your child’s treatment both in the inpatient and outpatient settings. Members of the burn team work with you and your child to teach appropriate burn wound care (pre- and post-operatively).

In preparation for a clinic appointment, we advise parents to:

• Give Tylenol, Ibuprofen, or prescription pain medication 30 minutes prior to the clinic appointment, even if your child has not needed pain medication at home.
• Bring a comforting object to the clinic visit (for example, a blanket, pacifier, bottle, or favorite stuffed animal).
• Write down all questions that need to be answered during the visit.

A Burn Camps Program

Children's Colorado Burn Camps Program was created in 1983 to meet the psychological and rehabilitation needs of the child and family following a burn injury. The program has grown into a series of camps designed to meet these needs by providing challenging activities, opportunities to form lasting friendships, adult mentorship and goal-setting opportunities. 

Treatment for juvenile firesetters

The Juvenile Fire Setting Program at Children’s Colorado evaluates and treats children with risk factors for continued firesetting. The program also provides group counseling to the child and parents regarding identifications of behaviors and interventions for behavior changes. Referrals to the program come primarily from fire departments, psychotherapists, schools and parents. For information about treatment for juvenile firesetters, call 720-777-6604 or email childrens.jfs@childrenscolorado.org.

Burn prevention

Children's Colorado established the Children’s Health Advocacy Institute (CHAI) to improve the health and safety of children by working collaboratively with the public and our community partners. Get tips for preventing burns in your home.

Additional resources

• Burn information and instructions
  Tips on what to do if your child is burned.
• Children’s Family Health Library
  Children's Colorado on Anschutz Medical Campus offers a Family Health Library to provide information in broad areas such a parenting, child development and medical diagnosis in children. Please feel free to stop by and use this great resource free of charge.