The Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) Fleming Neuroscience Institute Neurocritical Care Fellowship represents an exciting new opportunity for furthering the education and training of our future intensivists.
About the program
Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest campus is the hub of a hub-and-spoke model and is home to the dedicated neuroscience intensive care unit (ICU). Our reach is as far east as New Jersey, west to Reading, south to Philadelphia suburbs and north through the Poconos up to Scranton. Our very large and established presence in this region leads to a very diverse patient population, with a mix of urban and rural patients. The Lehigh Valley is the third most populated region in Pennsylvania. LVHN is the site for all neurosurgical cranial surgery including cerebrovascular as well as traumatic head and spine injury. LVHN is the region’s first Level I Trauma Center and the only one in the Lehigh Valley with additional qualifications in pediatric trauma.
The ICU is a 14-bed unit which can expand as needed based on the census. We are ideally situated next to radiology for easy access to computed tomography scans, interventional neuroradiology and MRI, as well as next to the newly built emergency department, one of the largest in the state.
Our unit has a new dedicated state-of-the-art GE point-of-care ultrasound machine, dedicated transcranial Doppler machine, pupillometers and a HemoSphere monitor for advanced hemodynamics, as well as cerebral tissue oxygenation monitoring and near infrared spectroscopy. Rooms are all wired for continuous electroencephalogram, which is available 24/7.
LVHN was the first The Joint Commission-certified Comprehensive Stroke Center in Pennsylvania and the third in the nation, and has additional distinction of having been successfully recertified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center for the fourth consecutive time. The LVHN Comprehensive Stroke Center has been recognized for its outstanding stroke care by the American Heart Association as well as being recognized as a Gold Plus Get With the Guidelines Stroke Hospital for 12 consecutive years. And we have also been recognized by Healthgrades for Stroke Care Excellence and received Critical Care Excellence Awards. As such, we have neurosurgery as well as interventional neuroradiology available at all hours.
Our four dedicated neurointensivists are all board-certified neurologists with additional fellowship training in neurocritical care, and we have a team of advanced practitioners for more support. Our nurses are all neurology trained critical care nurses.
We are a high-volume stroke center, and our population includes ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke (intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, subdural hematoma), postoperative neurosurgical or neurointerventional patients, status epilepticus, acute neuromuscular disease and other rare neurologic diseases requiring advanced care.