Division of Critical Care

Critical Care

History of EM/CCM as a subspecialty

The number of critically ill patients presenting to emergency departments continues to rise. Since the 1980’s emergency physicians have subspecialized in critical care medicine. In 2009, key advocates from Henry Ford Hospital joined representatives from ABIM and ABEM to forge a formal pathway in critical care medicine training for emergency physicians. In 2011, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) approved the proposal for Emergency Physicians to supplement their residencies with Internal Medicine sponsored critical care fellowships. In 2013, ABMS also approved Anesthesia Critical Care Medicine fellowship training and Surgical Critical Care fellowship training.

Pathways to Critical Care Medicine Certification for ABEM diplomats:

• ABIM co-sponsorship
  • Internal Medicine sponsored 2 year critical care fellowship
• ABA co-sponsorship
  • Anesthesia sponsored 2 year critical care fellowship
• ABS co-sponsorship
  • Surgery sponsored 2 year critical care fellowship

EM/CCM at Henry Ford Hospital

Home of the landmark early goal directed therapy study published in the NEJM, the Henry Ford Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine has long pioneered the delivery of early interventions and critical care at the point of initial contact in the emergency department. This approach to a variety of life-threatening diagnoses leads to sustained morbidity and mortality benefits.

Key facts:

• Henry Ford Hospital Detroit campus emergency department sees more than 100,000 patient visits annually
• Over 3,000 patients are admitted to the ICU annually
• Over 20,000 patients annually are triaged to the category 1 area of the emergency department for direct delivery of critical care
• Henry Ford Hospital Detroit campus has 148 ICU beds in the critical care building comprised of
  • Medical ICU
  • Surgical ICU
  • Neuro ICU
  • Cardiac ICU
  • Cardiovascular ICU
  • Neonatal ICU

Division of Critical Care Medicine

Our Department of Emergency Medicine has a stalwart reputation of providing high quality critical care to its patients. This critical care emphasis has resulted in the establishment of the Division of Critical Care Medicine within the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2016. Our division consists of nine fellowship trained critical care faculty who are committed to both critical care and emergency medicine. The Division’s goal is to empower our ED to provide excellent care as we advance the fields of resuscitation, quality of care and critical care education.

Critical Care Resident Education

Resident critical care medicine education consists of a variety of both clinical and didactic experiences:

• 5 months of mandatory critical care clinical rotations with options for additional rotations if desired.
• Early Intervention Team (EIT) rotation elective. A resident rotating on EIT will act as a critical care consultant in the ED by providing advanced hemodynamic monitoring, assisting with procedures, managing the ventilator, titrating vasoactive medications, etc.
• Didactic teaching through a comprehensive curriculum taught by EM/CCM faculty during EM Grand Rounds and simulation sessions.
• EM/CCM Interest group. A group designed to increase the exposure of residents to critical care medicine as a career track by providing additional clinical ICU experiences, assistance in completing fellowship prerequisites, mentorship, and opportunities in research.