Cardiac Care Unit
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Special Care Unit
Our Physicians
Venkat Shankar, M.D., M.B.A.
Chief, Section of Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics
Medical Director, Intensive Care Unit
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Drexel University College of Medicine
E-mail Address: venkat.shankar@drexelmed.edu
Medical School: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
Residency: Medical Center of Delaware, A. I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE
Fellowship: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Staff Appointmment: 2007
Special Interests: Management of severe, life-threatening asthma, diabetic ketoacidosis, ARDS and procedural sedation
Sharon Calaman, M.D.
Section of Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics
Medical School: New York University School of Medicine, New York City
Residency: Montefiore Medical Center, The Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N.Y.
Fellowship: Montefiore Medical Center, The Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N.Y.
Arun Chopra, M.D.
Section of Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics
Attending Physician, Setion of Critical Care
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Medical Director, Pallative Care Team
E-Mail Address: arun.chopramd@tenethealth.com
Medical School: GWU Medical School
Residency: Children's National Medical Center
Fellowship: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Paul M. Shore, M.D.
Section of Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics
Assistant Professor
E-Mail Address: paul.shoremd@tenethealth.com
Medical School: Hahnemann University School of Medicine
Residency: Children's Hospital of Pittsburg
Fellowship: Children's Hospital of Pittsburg (Pediatric Critical Care Medicine), Safar Center for Resuscitation Research (Neurointensive Care and Resuscitation Research)
Staff Appointment: Assistant Professor, August 2007
Special Interests: Clinical neurointensive care, pediatric brain injury, organ donation after cardiac death
Cara Garofalo, MD
Christine Schlichting, MD
Office: 215-427-8818
The Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) at St. Christopher’s is an intensive care unit dedicated to the care of critically ill infants and children with congenital and acquired heart disease. Using a multidisciplinary approach, the Section of Cardiothoracic Surgery, the Section of Cardiology, the Section of Critical Care and the Department of Anesthesia provide care for critically ill patients before and after cardiac surgery. The eight-bed CCU is staffed by registered nurses who specialize in the care of pediatric cardiac patients.
Appointments: 215-427-5156
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children is a 30-bed full-service facility that provides individualized care for the complex needs of each neonate. Each year, more than 200 infants are referred to the Unit from throughout the Delaware Valley.
The Unit is staffed by a team of neonatologists, neonatal-perinatal fellows, pediatric residents, neonatal nurse practitioners and specially trained registered nurses who care for infants with a multitude of medical or surgical complications. Some of the therapies used in the Unit include extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and high-frequency oscillatory and jet ventilation. Medical care in the Unit is enhanced by the accessibility of St. Christopher’s pediatric subspecialists and surgeons, including pediatric neurologists and pediatric cardiologists.
The NICU staff is also very responsive to the emotional needs of the parents, as they provide support, counseling, and education. A social worker provides parents support in negotiating the hospital system, accessing appropriate community resources and coping with the stress of their child’s hospitalization. The staff strives to provide individualized developmental care.
Parents are encouraged to visit at any time. Overnight accommodations can be arranged at the hospital. Condition updates on patients may be obtained 24 hours a day by contacting the Unit.
Maria Delivoria-Papadopoulos, MD
Chief, Section of Neonatal Medicine
The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) uses advanced technology to monitor and care for critically ill children. The Department of Anesthesia and the Section of Critical Care provide medical direction and concurrent care. Pediatric critical care attendings, senior pediatric residents and pediatric critical care nurses staff the PICU and interact with a wide range of pediatric medical and surgical subspecialists.
Parents are encouraged to remain with their children as much as possible and make use of the overnight accommodations in the hospital. Families and referring physicians are kept well-informed about the child’s condition by the PICU team. A social worker and a chaplain, experienced in the care of critically ill children, are also part of the team supporting both patients and families.
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
PICU: 215-427-5143
The Chevalier Jackson Special Care Unit (SCU) Is a 12-bed Intermediate care unit. Each child has a primary attending and concurrent care by the critical care service.
The Unit serves children with acute problems or whose complexity requires an increased level of surveillance compared to that of a medical-surgical unit. Diagnoses include moderately severe asthma, pneumonia and complications of sickle cell disease. The staff also cares for post operative surgical patients and technology-dependent children with artificial airways.
Child Life Services provides bedside and playroom activities that are appropriate for each patient. In addition, extensive parent education is provided to prepare parents for their child’s discharge.
Special Care Unit: 215-427-5154