Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)

At Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, we are fully equipped to diagnose, treat and support your child in our Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs). Our pediatric doctors, specialists and nurses understand that a child’s medical and emotional needs are different from adults. We use specialized equipment that can help us meet the needs of even the smallest of children, and our pediatric techniques provide the care kids need to thrive. Every member of our team has just one focus—help kids and teens get better faster so they can go home sooner. No matter what your child’s health condition, you can be confident in our experience and skill in treating it in our PICUs.

We are equipped to care for:

• Children with complex chronic illness
• Children with single- or multi-organ system failure
• Children recovering from complex orthopedic, neurologic and general surgeries
• Children undergoing organ transplants
• Trauma patients
• Children requiring breathing support
• Critically ill cancer patients
• Children with serious infections or pneumonia
• Children experiencing neurological problems like seizures 

Our advanced PICUs are staffed around the clock with physicians and nurses who are specially trained in caring for critically ill children. These experts are dedicated to meeting the needs of each child and his or her family from admission through discharge and post-hospital care.

Our PICUs include:

• 74 pediatric intensive care beds
• Board-certified pediatricians trained in critical care
• Nurses with expertise in pediatric intensive care
• State-of-the-art life monitoring technologies and life support
• Emergency medical transportation by ground and air 24 hours a day, seven days a week
• An ECMO Center with sophisticated heart and lung bypass machines

Having a child in the PICU can be an emotional and overwhelming experience. At Children’s, our No. 1 priority is to support you and your family. Whether treating an infection or caring for a child undergoing an organ transplant, we make it our mission to provide the best care—and best experience—for every child. Family is a big part of your child’s well-being. Not only are you a vital member of your child’s healthcare team; you are a source of security and comfort.

• Nora Colman, MD
• James D. Fortenberry, MD
• Kiran B. Hebbar, MD
• Munir J. Kapasi, MD
• Mary Lihinie deAlmeida, MD
• Matthew L. Paden, MD 
• Alexander R. Santos, MD
• Susan Hibler Anderson, MD
• Jocelyn Rebecca Grunwell, MD
• Toni M. Petrillo, MD
• Patrick S. Spafford, MD
• Keiko Tarquinio, MD
• Sharon Holloway Hamre, MD
• Pradip P. Kamat, MD
• Nga B. Pham, MD
• Jana A. Stockwell, MD
• Atul Vats, MD
• Karen Walson, MD
• Michael J. Wolf, MD
• Heather K. Viamonte, MD, MPH