Critical Care Medicine

Section Chief

  • Linda Aponte-Patel, MD

    Profile Headshot
    • Section Chief, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
    • Associate Vice Chair for Education, Diversity & Inclusion
    • Associate Director, Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship Program

Clinical Services

The section of Critical Care Medicine has three clinical services, each with a designated medical director and specialized staff.In the 14-bed cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) we care for postoperative congenital heart surgery patients beyond the newborn period as well as heart failure patients peri-transplant. In the general 13-bed pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) we care for a variety of general PICU patients but focus on severe respiratory failure, solid organ transplant recipients, and stem cell transplant recipients. In the 14-bed pediatric neuro-ICU we take care of trauma patients for our level 1 pediatric trauma program, post-operative spine and brain surgery patients, and patients with complicated epilepsy, stroke, and primary neuromuscular disease. We care for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) cases (approximately 50 per year) in the CVICU and the general PICU. Our ECMO program was recently awarded platinum status by ELSO (Extracorporeal Life Support Organization), and is one of the few pediatric centers in the world with this top designation. PICU admissions currently total about 2,100 per year.

In 2020 the division added an additional pediatric critical care service in a newly renovated PICU at Harlem Hospital. Harlem Hospital is the largest hospital in Central Harlem and a member of the NYC Health+ Hospital system. It provides a myriad of specialty services including a level 1 trauma program.

Research

The division currently receives National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other research salary support for eight of its full-time faculty members, and members of the division hold a number of independent and mentored research awards including several R- and K-level NIH awards. The division is also an active participant in national trials associated with the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators (PALISI). The majority of research funding comes from the NIH and total funding increased more than ten-fold between 2012 and 2018. 

Education

Pediatric Residency

Before 2012 residents spent short periods of time on all three PICU services. Since then, the division has consolidated the rotation to a single service (the general 13-bed PICU team), while the other two services are staffed by a mixture of advanced nurse practitioners and hospitalists. The resident rotation has a dedicated PICU education director and a defined curriculum that is taught by all critical care faculty and fellows. The resident ratings for the PICU rotation have been higher than any other inpatient or outpatient resident rotation for the last three years. Learn more about the residency program.

Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship

The mission of the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) Fellowship is to educate and train our fellows to become recognized leaders in the field by providing exemplary, multidisciplinary, evidence-based care for critically ill children who are particularly vulnerable because of the complexity of their underlying illnesses; conducting cutting-edge research; and serving as advocates for children afflicted with life-threatening medical problems.

Faculty