People with life-threatening illnesses, including chronic or severe pulmonary disorders and other medical conditions, often require the attention of a team of specially-trained health care providers in an intensive care unit (ICU). These patients are cared for and monitored around-the-clock with a range of sophisticated equipment, such as breathing machines, feeding tubes and catheters, to support their organs.
Critical care medicine physicians at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) Lung Center are board-certified intensivists who care for people with serious respiratory issues in our state-of-the-art critical care inpatient units. These critical care specialists are also skilled in sensitive areas such as end-of-life decisions, advance directives, and counseling of patients and families. They lead a multidisciplinary team represented by specialties across the spectrum—ranging from surgery and anesthesiology to nursing, social work and respiratory therapy. Our highly collaborative approach ensures that patients and families are supported and informed at all times.
Among the most common pulmonary conditions we treat are respiratory failure and infections like pneumonia. Advanced therapies include extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), mechanical ventilation and lung transplantation. Brigham and Women’s Hospital is an international referral center for seriously ill patients who require complex critical care services.
