Our SpecialtiesCritical Care Medicine

Critical Care Medicine

Offering a Coordinated Approach to Intensive Care in New Jersey

RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group’s comprehensive team of board-certified critical care physicians utilizes leading-edge technology and advanced monitoring to expertly treat patients with life-threatening medical conditions while maintaining compassionate care, especially after major surgery or trauma. Our critical care team will develop a treatment plan that draws on the strengths of the combined insights of the team in charge of your care, including resident physicians, respiratory therapists, vascular access physicians, physical therapists, registered nurses, and speech and language pathologists, among others. Our goal in treating critically ill patients is to help them regain their optimal health and preserve their quality of life.

What Is Critical Care Medicine?

Critical Care Medicine is a specialty that involves caring for critically ill patients who have, are at risk for, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. Critical care is often called intensive care and involves 24/7 monitoring by intensivist physicians and a skilled support staff including intensive care nurses and other specialists as needed.

Intensivists are specially trained to take a comprehensive treatment approach in caring for patients in intensive care units (ICU), but they also are ready to treat patients in other departments including the emergency department, surgical units, and others. They are not the same as specialists who focus on specific anatomy, such as a cardiologist who specializes in the heart and vascular system, or oncologists who focus on cancer treatment. Rather, an intensivist physician is primarily responsible for the care of ICU patients and they lead the support team oversee decisions involved in patient care as well as the coordination regarding whether the patient needs additional treatment from specialists.

Our intensivists follow evidence-based guidelines established by the Society of Critical Care Medicine to improve patient outcomes, including survival rates, and to reduce possible complications of dire medical situations that threaten life or limb. This practice leads to shorter lengths of stay in the ICU and improved quality of life for our patients.

What Conditions Do Intensivists Treat?

Some of the conditions that may require intensive monitoring and treatment by critical care specialists include:

  • Bone marrow transplant

  • Chest drainage tube insertion

  • Continuous renal replacement therapy

  • Craniotomy

  • Heart transplant

  • Heart surgery

  • Stroke

  • Kidney transplant

  • Liver transplant

  • Lung transplant

  • Pancreas transplant

  • Postoperative care

  • Catheter insertion

  • Cardiac pacemaker insertion

  • Acute liver failure

  • Cerebral edema

  • Drug overdose

  • Heart failure

  • Multiple organ failure

  • Pneumonia

  • Pulmonary embolism

  • Sepsis or septic shock

  • And more

Why You Should Choose a RWJBarnabas Health Facility for Intensive Care

Our highly trained, compassionate team of board-certified physicians and support staff work as a team to restore the health of our patients. To that end, our team is available 24/7 to care for patients with continuous, active monitoring, as it is well-established that rapid access to critical care medicine can save lives, and reduce medical complications and medical costs in caring for critically ill or injured patients.

To make an appointment at RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group with one of our critical care medicine specialists, please visit our Physician Locator to find a provider near you. Existing patients can call a provider's office or visit MyChart to schedule an appointment online, at their convenience. New patients, please call 1-888-724-7123.