Setting the standard for comprehensive burn care

• Published: 8/27/2026

Parkland combines expertise, innovation and lifelong support

Long before many of today’s advances in burn treatment existed, Parkland was helping define how patients with serious burn injuries are cared for. Decades later, that legacy of innovation continues through a comprehensive program that treats not only the injury, but the person behind it.

The Parkland Burn Center is one of only eight burn centers in the nation verified for adult burn care, pediatric burn care and burn fellowship training by the American Burn Association. Parkland is also the only ABA-verified burn center in North Texas treating both adult and pediatric patients.

But verification is only one measure of what sets Parkland apart.

From critical care and advanced surgical treatment to rehabilitation, emotional support and long-term recovery, Parkland provides a continuum of care designed to help burn survivors heal and rebuild their lives. The program includes a Burn Intensive Care Unit, Burn Acute Care Unit and a comprehensive outpatient burn clinic. Patients also have early access to microsurgery, laser therapy and advanced reconstruction as part of their recovery.

“Burn care doesn’t end when a patient leaves the hospital,” said Katie Mapula, DNP, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, CCRN, Director of Nursing for Critical Care and the Burn Center. “Our patients may need us for months or even years after their injury. We have the specialists, programs and experience to be there throughout that journey, helping them heal physically and emotionally and supporting them as they return to their families, schools, jobs and communities.”

Parkland’s influence on burn care extends far beyond Dallas. The Parkland Burn Formula, developed by Charles R. Baxter, MD, became a landmark innovation in burn resuscitation and has been used around the world to guide fluid replacement for patients with serious burn injuries.

That tradition of advancing burn care continues today. Parkland is one of four national Burn Model System centers studying physical and psychosocial outcomes among burn survivors, and one of only two that have been continuously funded since the system was created. The Burn Center also participates in multiple research programs through the Center for Organogenesis, Regeneration and Trauma, and with UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Education is another important part of Parkland’s mission. Its verified burn fellowship program trains physicians in the highly specialized field of burn care, while the center provides Advanced Burn Life Support training for first responders and healthcare professionals and hosts an annual Burn Symposium focused on burn treatment, recovery and prevention.

In 2025, Parkland Burn Center completed more than 4,448 outpatient clinic visits and admitted more than 844 pediatric and adult patients for inpatient burn care, serving patients from 175 Texas counties.

For patients and families, however, Parkland’s impact often cannot be measured in numbers.

Burn injuries can leave emotional as well as physical scars. Parkland provides dedicated psychological care and a burn survivor support group, along with Survivors Offering Assistance in Recovery, or SOAR, a peer-support program that connects current patients with people who have experienced a burn injury and understand the challenges of recovery.

For Parkland’s youngest patients, support extends well beyond the hospital room. A dedicated Child Life Specialist helps children and families cope with hospitalization and treatment, while a school re-entry program helps young burn survivors’ transition back to the classroom. Parkland also collaborates with the Dallas Independent School District to provide tutoring for students who face lengthy hospital stays.

And for more than 35 years, Camp I-Thonka-Chi has given children with burn injuries something equally important: the opportunity to simply be children at summer camp.

Meaning “a place that makes one strong or fearless, not afraid to face life,” Camp I-Thonka-Chi brings together young burn survivors ages 6 to 18 for activities, friendship and the opportunity to spend time with other children who understand what they have experienced.

“Children who have experienced burn injuries can sometimes feel as though everyone notices their scars before they notice them,” said Donna Crump, PT, DPT, camp co-founder and director. “At camp, they are surrounded by people who understand. They can build friendships, challenge themselves, gain confidence and, most importantly, just have fun and be kids.”

That same commitment to survivors continues into adulthood. Parkland offers programs designed to help adult burn survivors and their families navigate the long-term physical and emotional effects of their injuries. Through a generous donation to the Parkland Health Foundation, five adult burn survivors and their loved ones will be attending an adult burn retreat in September, and in November, burn center staff will welcome a reunion for burn survivors of all ages during its annual “Friendsgiving” event.

The Burn Center also works to prevent injuries before they happen. A dedicated Burn Outreach and Injury Prevention Educator provides community education, while Parkland staff participate in burn prevention events and provide education to first responders and healthcare professionals who may be among the first to care for a person with a serious burn.

For Mapula, it is that combination of expertise and long-term commitment that defines Parkland burn care.

“We have tremendous clinical expertise and a history of innovation that we are very proud of, but what makes this program truly special is the way we care for people,” Mapula said. “We may meet someone on one of the worst days of their life, and our responsibility is to help them get to the other side of it. We don’t just want our patients to survive. We want them to recover, regain their independence and get back to living their lives.”

From an innovation that changed burn resuscitation around the world to research shaping the future of treatment, Parkland’s legacy in burn care spans generations. But for the physicians, nurses, therapists and other specialists who care for burn patients every day, the mission remains intensely personal: providing expert care when it is needed most and standing alongside patients and families throughout recovery.

For more information about the Parkland Burn Center, visit www.parklandhealth.org/burn-unit.