The Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine strives for excellence in patient care, research, and fellowship training. Our division provides comprehensive services for a wide variety of critically ill medical and surgical patients with acute, life-threatening disease and injury. The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is a 20-bed, state-of-the-art critical care unit designed to meet the needs of our patients and families. Care is also provided in a nine-bed Pediatric Progressive Care Unit.
Medical and surgical subspecialists from all disciplines are immediately available in the PICU. Areas of subspecialty expertise include congenital heart disease, cardiovascular surgery, respiratory failure, neurosurgery, stem cell transplantation, immunodeficiencies, hematologic and oncologic emergencies, sepsis, and multiorgan system dysfunction. Available advanced treatment modalities include Extracorporeal Life Support (neonatal, pediatric, and cardiac ECMO), high frequency ventilation, nitric oxide therapy, non-invasive ventilation, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Twenty-four-hour-a-day critical care consultation is available.
The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Duke Children’s Hospital provides comprehensive services for a wide variety of critically ill medical and surgical pediatric patients with acute, life-threatening disease and injury. Duke is a Level I Trauma Center and a regional, national, and international referral facility. Areas of subspecialty expertise include congenital heart disease, cardiovascular surgery, respiratory failure, neurosurgery, stem cell transplantation, immunodeficiencies, hematologic and oncologic emergencies, sepsis, and multiorgan system dysfunction. Available advanced treatment modalities include Extracorporeal Life Support (neonatal, pediatric, and cardiac ECMO), high frequency ventilation, nitric oxide therapy, non-invasive ventilation, ventricular assist devices (VADs), and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
The PICU is a 20 bed state-of-the-art critical care unit designed to meet the needs of our patients, families, and staff team members. Care is also provided in a nine-bed Pediatric Progressive Care Unit. Development of a new 13-bed Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit is actively underway. The Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Division and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit are actively growing to better serve the needs of our patients and our community.
Additional inpatient services at Duke Children’s Hospital include 55 intermediate care beds, a 16-bed stem cell transplant unit, and a 48-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Transitional Care Nursery. The Pediatric Radiology Division offers the highest quality imagery techniques including magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, ultrasound, and nuclear medicine. The Emergency Department, a Level 1 Trauma Center, includes a specialized pediatric emergency center staffed by board-certified Emergency Medicine physicians. A new Pediatric Emergency Department facility was completed in April 2007. The Duke Hyperbaric Center is a well-established facility involved in both patient care and research which is used for PICU patients primarily for the management of carbon monoxide poisoning or air embolism.
The PICU attendings coordinate the transport of critically ill infants, children, and adolescents to Duke through the Life Flight / Life Care program which provides air and ground transport by highly-trained pediatric transport nurses. Fellows participate in the coordination of transports during their second and third years of training.
Problems commonly managed in the PICU include:
Specialized services in the PICU include:
The PICU team is comprised of a broad range of healthcare professionals including board certified / eligible pediatric intensivists, pediatric critical care fellows, highly skilled and specially trained critical care nurses and respiratory care practitioners, residents, medical students, social workers, physical and occupational therapists, chaplains, discharge planners, clinical nutritionists, and clinical pharmacists. All medical and surgical subspecialties are readily available to provide consultation as needed. The PICU care delivery model supports this entire team’s commitment to utilizing their specialized skills to meet our patients' needs in a family-centered care environment.
| Name | Areas of Special Interest |
|---|---|
| Ira Cheifetz, MD | Pediatric critical care medicine, acute lung injury, high-frequency ventilation, cardiopulmonary interactions, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, ECMO, congenital heart disease, mechanical ventilation |
| Mary E. Hartman, MD | Pediatric critical care medicine |
| Jon N. Meliones, MD, MS | Pediatric cardiac critical care, pediatric critical care performance improvement, ECMO, high frequency ventilation, technology |
| Jennifer Turi, MD | Pediatric critical care medicine and acute lung injury |
| Name | Areas of Special Interest |
|---|---|
| Donna S. Hamel, RRT, RCP, FAARC | Clinical Research Coordinator |
| Michael A. Gentile, RRT, RCP, FAARC | Research Associate |
| Lisa Mamo | Research Analyst |
| Chris Rudd, PharmD | Clinical Pharmacist |
| Jane M Mericle, RN, BSN, MHS-CL | Clinical Operations Director, Neonatal & Pediatric Critical Care |
| Debra Daugird, RN, MSN | Nurse Manager of Operations, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit |
| Kristi Ryan, RN | Nurse Manager of Operations, Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit |
| Valorie Smith | Staff Assistant |
| Veronica Mills | Program Coordinator, Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship |
| Remi Hueckel, RN, MSN, FNP | Pediatric Critical Care Nurse Practitioner |
| Debbie Guentensberger, RN, MSN, PNP | Pediatric Critical Care Nurse Practitioner |
| Kelly Nicklas, RN, MSN, PNP | Pediatric Critical Care Nurse Practitioner |
| Christine Agee, RN, MSN, PNP | Pediatric Critical Care Nurse Practitioner |
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit:
919-681-5541
PICU Attending Pager:
919-970-1904
Patient Transfer Center:
800-524-LIFE(5433)
Life Flight/Life Care:
800-326-LIFE(5433)