Critical Care for Children

When your child needs intensive care, you can rely on the region's only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Hospitalists and Intensivists Provide 24/7 Coverage Full-time, hospital-based internal medicine physicians (called "hospitalists") and critical-care physicians (called "intensivists") care for children 24/7 inside the PICU. They are available 24-hours to answer your questions or consult with your child’s regular doctor.If your child has complex medical conditions, is a trauma or burn patient, intensive care may be needed. We have the region's only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, providing the highest level of intensive care-specially designed for children. Our Level I Trauma Center has additional qualifications in pediatric trauma.

Our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is a collaborative effort on the part of Lehigh Valley Hospital and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Since 2000, this specialized unit has given area families and physicians a high-quality, convenient option for pediatric intensive care, rather than sending children and families outside the area. It is the only PICU in the region.

Our Pediatrics Intensivists collaborate with specialists such as burn surgeons, trauma surgeons, pediatric surgeons, pediatric hematologists/oncolgists and pediatric cardiologists. The high level of coordination provides high quality and continuity of care for our patients.

Our staff understands the unique medical and personal needs of severely ill and injured children, from very small infants to teenagers. We include parents and family as part of the care team, provide parent overnight rooms and offer a Child Life program and referrals to community support programs.

Our relationship with The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia gives your child immediate access to additional specialty resources that may be needed in rare, life-threatening situations.

Our PICU serves:

• Children with life-threatening illnesses, such as severe infections, breathing problems, ingestions and seizures
• Severely injured children admitted to our Level I Trauma Center or Regional Burn Center
• Children with complex medical problems who live in the community, including those dependent on ventilators and other technical devices. Our goal is to keep those children healthy and out of the hospital. When they do need admission, they are cared for by staff with the knowledge, expertise and technology to provide the finest care.
• Children in hospice care who receive their primary care at home and who occasionally require inpatient care to relieve pain or adjust complex medical care.
• Children who are acutely ill in other hospitals but need a higher level of resources. Our PICU responds to urgent requests for help in managing emergency situations from all hospitals in the region.

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