Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia, is home to the only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) serving all of Northern Virginia, with services extending into West Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland. Our 14-bed tertiary care unit provides medical and surgical care for critically ill children in the region. Access to these services often makes the difference between good and poor outcomes for our patients. For more than 20 years, Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital has been providing this access to advanced medical care.
Our services
As the sole PICU for the Northern Virginia region, Inova's PICU provides care for critically ill children with conditions ranging from infections and respiratory problems to traumatic injuries, drownings, seizures, and child abuse. As experts in the care of critically ill children, we also offer transport services to bring the nearly 600,000 children in the Northern Virginia region to our PICU when they are critically ill.
We work closely with a multidisciplinary team, including ICU doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, consulting physicians, palliative care specialists, child life specialists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and chaplains, to provide the best possible care for our patients and their families. Our goal is to address not only the medical needs of the critically ill child but also the psychosocial needs of their family.
We understand that caring for a critically ill child means supporting the entire family. To this end, we conduct family-centered rounds to present the day’s medical and/or surgical plan and to answer any questions about the care plan.
A commitment to high-quality care
Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital PICU actively participates in national and international research to enhance our understanding of and care for complex diseases and illnesses that affect critically ill children. We also utilize national research initiatives, such as Virtual Pediatric Services, to better track the most common diseases we encounter and the severity of illness that bring our patients to the hospital.
Specialized critical care transport
The pediatric critical care transport team consists of an Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital critical care nurse, respiratory therapist, and medic. The team averages 30 transports per month, with more than 80% of those transports bringing patients to the pediatric critical care units. The critical care transport team is equipped to handle nearly every case requiring transfer to the PICU.
Procedures performed in our PICU
Many critically ill children require specialized procedures to support their recovery. These procedures are performed by our multidisciplinary team to continue care for our patients:
- Central venous lines
- Arterial lines
- Airway management including intubation
- Ventilator manipulation and management
- Use of ultrasound to aid in procedural accuracy
- Chest tube placement
- Bronchoscopy
- Neuromonitoring
- ECMO