The Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) is devoted to providing state-of-the-art, evidence-based care to critically ill infants and children, while advancing the science of pediatric critical care and training the next generation of academic pediatric intensivists. We strive to maintain a national reputation for excellence in clinical practice, research, and fellowship education. PCCM is home to both the CICU and PICU. The NICU operates as a separate division under the direction of Craig Jackson, MD.
A total of 45 state-of-the-art beds are designated for Critical Care at Children’s, with three distinct units and teams providing Neonatal, Pediatric, and Cardiac Intensive Care services, with an emphasis on family-centered care.
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) consists of a team of doctors and nurses specially trained to provide care for infants with prematurity and/or medical and surgical congenital disorders up to 1 month of age.
The Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) consists of doctors and nurses with expertise in the care of infants and children with congenital and acquired heart diseases, both medical and surgical in nature.
The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is staffed by doctors and nurses dedicated to the care of infants and children with the full spectrum of both medical and surgical childhood diseases. PICU physicians also provide coverage for the Pediatric Trauma Service at Harborview Medical Center.
Each of these services has expertise in the full range of modern-day support modalities including ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and internal and external mechanical heart support. Infants and children undergoing heart, liver, kidney and small bowel transplants, as well as those who have undergone bone marrow transplantations, are all routinely admitted to the ICU’s.
Diagnoses or Conditions Treated
The top diagnoses for the ICU are:
- Acute liver failure
- Acute kidney failure
- Bacterial meningitis
- Bacterial sepsis
- Birth depression or trauma
- Brain tumors
- Bronchiolitis
- Congenital and acquired heart disease
- Craniofacial anomalies
- Diaphragmatic hernia
- Foreign body aspiration
- Infant respiratory distress syndrome
- Meconeum aspiration syndrome
- Near drowning
- Necrotizing enterocolitis
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Respiratory failure
- Seizures
Physician Leadership
- Jerry J. Zimmerman, PhD, MD, Division Head, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
- Harris P. Baden, MD, Medical Director, CICU
- Craig Jackson, MD, MHA, Medical Director, NICU
Divisional faculty are involved in a variety of NIH, industry and foundation supported basic, translational and clinical research. Specific areas of investigation include inflammation/ischemia-dysoxia, long term outcomes following pediatric critical illness, bioethics, pediatric disaster preparedness, and continuous performance improvement.
Pediatric Residency Rotation
Pediatric residents rotate in the PICU with the goal of experiencing the full spectrum of pediatric disease, learning to recognize the child in need of intensive care and practicing the initial steps in resuscitation and management of the critically ill infant or child. <>Pediatric residents can choose a rotation in the CICU as an elective. In this rotation residents will be exposed to a wide range of congenital and acquired heart disease. Residents will learn about advanced cardio-pulmonary physiology and pathophysiology.
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
The PCCM fellowship program provides comprehensive training in clinical pediatric critical care medicine and the principles of quality improvement, scientific investigation, bioethics, and ICU administration. PCCM fellows rotate in the PICU and CICU of Children’s as well as a pediatric trauma ICU at Harborview Medical Center.
Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Fellowship
This 4th year CICU fellowship program provides advanced training for PCCM specialists interested in a career in Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care. Fellows will learn to manage the full spectrum of pediatric critical heart disease including peri-operative congenital heart disease, heart failure, cardiac transplant, and mechanical circulatory support. Training also includes rotations in echocardiography, interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, and cardiac surgery.
For more information, please visit the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship website.
Seattle Children’s Hospital
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
4800 Sand Point Way NE
Box 359300; M/S FA.6.226
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 987-2170