Critical Care

 

With a total of 40 beds staffed by 12 pediatric intensivists and nearly 200 nursing and ancillary staff, the The Sybil B. Harrington Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Phoenix Children's Hospital is not just the largest pediatric critical care unit in the Southwest and one of the largest in the country.  It is also uniquely prepared to serve the state's most critically ill or injured children.

 

Four of the intensivists and at least 15 nurses in the Critical Care department have worked for Phoenix Children's longer than 15 years.  Support staff, consultants, nutritionists, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, child life specialists, and resident physicians in training round out the multidisciplinary team, and each one of them offers a different kind of expertise in pediatric critical care.  It is a team approach that includes the family and leads to better physical and emotional outcomes.

 

In addition to offering the best medical care professionals, Phoenix Children's Critical Care is the only unit of its kind in a children's hospital offering all critical care services, including neuro-resuscitation, trauma, cardiac care, endocrine, and hematology/oncology.  Phoenix Children's is the only hospital doing pediatric renal transplants in the state; the only center doing bone marrow transplants in the Valley; and one of the hospitals nationwide performing the ECMO procedure (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), allowing a child's heart and lungs to rest while equipment "breathes" and pumps blood for the patient.

 

The new PICU features all-new construction designed around courtyards to allow views from all patient rooms. Innovative cabinetry hides as much of the high tech equipment as possible, and the unit includes sleeping rooms, showers and washers and dryers for family use.

 

In addition to the services provided in the unit, Phoenix Children's understands its responsibility to make its expertise available to others in the community who may play a role in providing care to critically ill or injured children. Our Pediatric Advanced Life Support program trains paramedics and emergency room staff all across the State on proper intervention, stabilization and transport of children.

 

For beginning medical practitioners, Phoenix Children's offers a residency program a PICU rotation for physicians and provides and extensive 14-week orientation program to newly graduated nurses.

 

Finally, the Critical Care Unit works to find the cures of tomorrow as part of the Child Health Corporation of America's (CHCA) collaboration doing research on blood stream infections and ventilator associated pneumonias.

 

Highlights

  • Largest pediatric critical care unit in the Southwest and one of the largest in the country
  • Four of the intensivists and at least 15 RNs have worked for Phoenix Children's longer than 15 years
  • Only unit of its kind in a children's hospital offering all pediatric critical care services, including neuro-resuscitation, trauma, cardiac care, endocrine, and hematology/oncology
  • Only hospital doing renal transplants in the state; only center doing bone marrow transplants in the Valley; one of the hospitals nationwide performing the ECMO procedure
  • Pediatric Advanced Life Support program trains paramedics and emergency room staff all across the state
  • Extensive 14-week orientation program to newly graduated nurses
  • Participating in research with Child Health Corporation of America

 

Physicians

Elizabeth Zorn, MD, Medical Director

Paul Liu, MD, Medical Staff Section Chief

Paul Bakerman, MD

David Beyda, MD

Sandra Buttram, MD

Teik Ee Cheah, MD

Robert Graham, MD

Sharad Menon, MD

Paul Tafoya, MD

Patricia Teaford, MD

David Tellez, MD

Belinda J. Large, PNP

Kim A. Yeakel, PNP

 

Contact

(602) 546-1784