Critical Care Division

The Alissa Amalfi Division of Pediatric Critical Care has significant roles in patient care, teaching, and research.

Patient Care

Members of the division provide full-time coverage for the intensive care services of Golisano Children’s Hospital, where the overwhelming majority of our clinical activities are focused. These services are housed within a 22-bed facility designed to further our emphasis on providing “high-tech / high-touch” care to our patients and families. It is the only Pediatric ICU (PICU) and Pediatric Cardiac Care Center (PCCC) in the region and serves as the referral center for all pediatric critical injury and illness, including trauma and burns. Approximately 1000 patients are admitted annually, with an average daily census of 15.3 (patients) and an average stay of 4.9 days.

In addition to coverage of the PICU and PCCC, members of the division also staff a busy sedation and vascular access service, and manage and staff the Pediatric Transport Program.

Teaching

Residency

Pediatric residents rotate through the Pediatric ICU service during their second and third years; during this time they are exposed to a pathophysiologically-based, yet holistic, approach to the stabilization and treatment of children with critical illnesses. Elective rotations are available within the PCICU and sedation programs and are individually tailored to the trainee’s goals. Medical students from both the required Pediatrics rotation and electives are an important part of the care team.

Members of the division also serve critical roles in the first two years of the undergraduate medical curriculum, including the clinical coordination of the Human Structure and Function course.

Fellowship

The division offers a three-year ACGME-approved fellowship program in Pediatric Intensive Care. In addition to their role as learners in the division, Critical Care fellows take an active role in the education of medical students and residents. The fellowship program offers established rotations in cardiothoracic surgery and anesthesiology, as well as elective rotations in sedation and PICC lines.

We also offer a comprehensive one-year, full time Pediatric Neurocritical Care Fellowship. The program is the only one of its kind in New York State and draws from the University’s rich history of excellence in neurocritical care training. Fellows develop expertise in the management of neurocritical illnesses including traumatic brain injury, seizure disorders and status epilepticus, stroke, hypoxic injuries and more.

Research

Research activities center largely on clinical questions related to children with critical illness. Major current foci of our Critical Care Research include blood product transfusions in the post-operative cardiac patient, cooling after cardiac arrest, and assessing new devices for measuring hemodynamic function in the PICU.

Fellowship Research

An important component of subspecialty training, Fellowship Research in Pediatric Critical Care, is the completion of a scholarly work product that will meet American Board of Pediatric (ABP) guidelines. To that end, each fellow engages in a project tailored to one’s own interests in clinical, basic, or translational research. A faculty mentor guides the fellow throughout the process to ensure successful completion.