The Division of Critical Care strives to optimize outcomes for critically ill patients through multidisciplinary education, collaborative research, cutting-edge clinical service lines, and integration of patient care across the prehospital setting, the emergency department and intensive care units.
Primary Functions
- Improve the care of patients in the first minutes to hours of their critical illness
- Improve the care of patients boarding in the emergency department (ED) who are awaiting an inpatient ICU bed
- Leverage knowledge and connections of the emergency medicine-critical care team toward high-impact ED and system-wide critical care initiatives
- Educate emergency medicine residents, advanced practice providers, and physicians about state-of-the-art critical care as relevant to care in the ED
- Educate inpatient intensivists on the value of prehospital and emergency care
Broad Footprint & Faculty
The Department of Emergency Medicine has several dually boarded faculty who staff the ED as well as the Medical ICU, Cardiothoracic ICU, Neuro ICU, Surgical ICU, eICU, Palliative Medicine, and Critical Care Transport (Med Flight).
Graduates of our emergency medicine residency program have matriculated to highly competitive critical care fellowships, and multiple current residents are on a critical care fellowship trajectory. Additionally, our high-functioning advanced practice providers have recently taken a role in our Medical ICU.
Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
One of very few centers in Wisconsin with ECMO capability, UW Health offers this device to provide temporary life support by circulating blood and oxygen throughout the body when the heart is not strong enough to do it alone.
Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) holds promise to improve outcomes for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) but requires careful patient selection, timely application, and rigorous quality assurance to be effective. UW is one of the few academic emergency departments in the nation providing this life- and brain-saving technology.
Established in 2019, the UW ECPR program has been tremendously successful—the neurologically intact survival rate for OHCA victims receiving ECPR at UW is 36.3%, compared to the national average of 8.1% for conventional CPR (CCPR).
UW Health offers ECMO for children and adults. We’ve been recognized with the Gold Level Award for Excellence in Life Support by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization. This award speaks to the exceptional care we provide. It also shows our commitment to staff training, equipment and collaboration.
Additional Ongoing Initiatives
The Division of Critical Care liaises closely with operational, analytics, and research teams at both the department and institutional level. As a result, we are able to efficiently effect change for the betterment of our patients. Importantly, our residents are involved in all Division initiatives, thereby ensuring academic productivity.
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eCART implementation and recalibration
eCART implementation and recalibration – leveraging validated predictive analytics to spot early patient deterioration and to help inform efficient and safe patient dispositions.
Emergency airway management
The Department of Emergency Medicine’s approach to emergency and difficult airways is robust and emulated throughout the institution. This includes novel standardized “call & response” checklists, sophisticated technology, and advanced techniques including awake fiberoptic intubation and proficient surgical airway placement. Our trainees not only become technical experts, but also well-equipped to replicate and implement these standardized advanced approaches in their future institutions.
Emergency department extubation protocol
ED extubation protocol – Aimed at identifying and facilitating potential safe extubations thereby ensuring ICU beds are available for critically ill patients in the region.
Pain, agitation, delirium (PAD) protocol
Pain, Agitation, Delirium (PAD) Protocol in the ED – Prioritizes analgesia-first and monitored sedation for intubated patients thereby reducing ventilator-days, ICU LOS, and mortality.
Resuscitation blood gas (RBG)
Resuscitation Blood Gas (RBG) – Point-of-care speed for high-impact labs while preserving a centralized lab infrastructure.
Critical Care Medicine Providers
Faculty Physicians
Advanced Practice Providers
Recent news and outreach
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New Faculty Q&A: Dr. Matthew McCauley
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Department of Emergency Medicine 2023 graduation awards and recognitions
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Six department faculty promoted to associate level or higher for 2023
Six Department of Emergency Medicine faculty have been approved for promotion this year, with three faculty achieving tenure status...
Emergency medicine fellows’ future career plans, Class of 2023
Eight physicians graduate from their emergency medicine fellowships at the University of Wisconsin this week. Take a look at where they're headed to next! ...
Career moves! Where the Emergency Medicine Residency Class of 2023 is headed after graduation
The Department of Emergency Medicine congratulates 11 emergency medicine residents on successfully completing their graduate medical education programs...