Care delivery innovations for children with congenital heart disease are focus for Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society's 13th Annual International Meeting

WASHINGTON – The world’s leaders in pediatric cardiac intensive care, including experts from Children’s National Health System, are gathering in Washington, D.C., this week to exchange ideas and best practices in research and care delivery for children and teens with congenital heart disease. The event is chaired by Darren Klugman, M.D., medical director of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at Children’s National, and Melissa B. Jones, MSN, APRN, CPNP-AC, lead nurse practitioner for critical care in the CICU.

“Washington is a vibrant city, and Children’s National is a world-renowned  hospital delivering care to children from around the world, so hosting our colleagues from PCICS here is an ideal reflection of both the society, and the children we all care for,” says Dr. Klugman.

Meeting sessions focus on a variety of topics related to caring for children with CCHD, including:

• How care delivery models around the world impact management of CHD
• The impact of medical missions and sustainable program development in low/middle income countries
• Cutting edge innovation, specifically device and drug development, machine learning technology and education platforms that are shaping the world of pediatric cardiac critical care around the world
• Challenging cases, including mechanical support options for the single ventricle patient
• Team dynamics and the key to team resiliency

“This meeting is focused the care of children with critical heart disease around the world.  We are excited to share our experiences to expand our knowledge and advance the care of children globally,” adds Jones.

The conference features presentations from several other Children’s National Heart Institute cardiologists, intensivists, surgeons, and nurses:

• Richard Jonas, M.D., division chief of Cardiac Surgery and co-director or the Children’s National Heart Institute, who will give a talk titled “Two Wrongs Don’t Make One Right: A Good Single V Is Better than a Bad 2V.” Dr. Jonas has spent his career studying ways to improve the safety of cardiopulmonary bypass, particularly as it relates to neurological development.
• John Berger III, M.D., medical director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program and interim medical director of the Heart Transplant Program. Dr. Berger specializes in treating advanced heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and congenital heart disease, and will give a talk titled, “Chicken or Egg: Failing Ventricle or Elevated PVR in the Fontan Patient.”
• Ricardo A. Munoz, M.D., chief of the Division of Cardiac Critical Care Medicine, will give a talk titled, “Program Development from a Distance: The Art and Science of Telemedicine.” Dr. Munoz will share his extensive experience with more than 3,500 teleconsultations for children with critical heart disease, including lessons learned. He’ll also lay out a blueprint for the future in this exciting field, discussing how artificial intelligence may hold the key to turning telemedicine from reactive to proactive diagnosis and treatment.
• Christine Riley, MSN, APRN, CPNP-AC, a nurse practitioner in the CICU, will present at the PCICS Advanced Practice Provider Curriculum Review, a special session designed to promote a standardized core education for advanced practice providers in cardiac intensive care. Her PCICS sessions focus on obstructions to systemic outflow and transposition variants.

The PCICS 13^th Annual International Meeting hosts 450 international physician and nurse attendees from specialties including cardiology, critical care medicine, cardiac surgery, anesthesia and neonatology. 

Media Contact:  Rebecca Siddon |  |  (202) 476-4500