Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Critically ill children with a wide variety of medical needs receive state-of-the-art care in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

The PICU has 20 beds, each in its own private room in order to allow patients and their families to spend quality, quiet time with each other. Each bed is monitored, and vital signs such as heart rate and respiratory rate are recorded and can be viewed by the doctors, nurses and other care providers at the patient's bed side or at a central nursing station.

Last year, over 900 critically ill children from North Carolina and the Southeast were cared for by the doctors and nurses in the PICU. These children had a variety of life-threatening medical and surgical conditions that necessitated their admission to the PICU.

Families are an important and essential part of the care team in the PICU, and research has shown that a familiar face at a child's bedside eases anxiety and speeds their recovery. Parents are encouraged to spend time with their child at the bedside, learning about their child's medical needs and providing love and support.

In order for families to be effective members of the care team, they must care for themselves as well. There are four sleep rooms adjacent to the PICU that can be used by parents of patients who are admitted urgently during the night or whose condition is extremely unstable. In addition, our social workers and nursing staff can assist families with lodging through referrals to the Ronald McDonald House.

A Family Resource Room is located just outside of the PICU and families may use the computer to research current medical literature about their child's condition or treatments.