Mott Respiratory Care
Welcome to the fast pace and challenging atmosphere of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. The Respiratory Therapist is a respected member of the team of medical professionals who provide skilled and compassionate care to approximately eleven hundred high acuity patients per year.
The patient population is diverse: age ranges from three weeks to eighteen years; diagnoses vary from hypoxemic respiratory failure, status asthmaticus and severe bronchiolitis to closed head injury, spinal cord trauma, septic shock and multiple organ system failure. Nearly one-third of all admitted patients require mechanical ventilation. The Respiratory Therapist maintains a high level of expertise regarding strategies for airway management, lung protective ventilation, and expeditious weaning. Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation (NPPV) presents unique challenges in the pediatric population. The Respiratory Therapist is instrumental in the successful use of NPPV to avoid intubation in some patients. Bronchodilator therapy, nitric oxide administration, and cardiac output measurements are performed by the Respiratory Therapist with a focused attention to efficacy and cost efficiency.