Faculty in the Division of Critical Care Anesthesia provide critical care to patients in the cardiothoracic ICU – our home unit, the surgical/trauma ICU, and the medical ICU. The UW School of Medicine and Public Health and UW Health is home to one of the nation’s leading organ transplant programs.
We provide world-class care to heart, lung, heart/kidney, heart/liver, and heart/lung transplant recipients in the cardiothoracic ICU, and to our liver and other organ transplant recipients in the surgical ICU. We’ve had incredible growth in our transplant programs and in our mechanical circulatory support program, where we expertly manage complex patients supported with ECMO, VADs and total artificial hearts.
Our faculty take a “clinician-first” mindset in our academic careers, and we are respected throughout the hospital as experts in the management of unstable patients. We are key parts of UW Health’s ECMO and Shock Consult Teams, where our faculty participate in the decision-making surrounding the management of acutely decompensating patients with severe end-organ failure. Additionally, several of our faculty participate in ECMO cannulation.
The critical care faculty are also excellent medical educators, and several have been awarded prestigious teaching awards. Our ACGME-accredited fellowship allows for three fellows annually, offers dual-training in cardiac and critical care for select applicants, and is accredited to train emergency medicine residency graduates via the ABA / ABEM two-year pathway.
Our division has had excellent success in our academic endeavors including research endeavors sponsored by department and system grants as well as industry. We have active research projects in cardiac arrest management, invasive and non-invasive continuous hemodynamic monitoring, diabetes/dysglycemia, intubation and simulation, and more. Our faculty serve as site leads for major clinical trials and several are involved in governing body leadership within the SCCM, SOCCA, ASA and more.
Division Highlight
Several of our individual faculty have local, national, and international recognition and involvement. All present locally and regionally, and several are sought-after national and international speakers.
Dr. Arrigo is a former software developer who designed, programmed, and published “ECHO On,” a free, open access medical education app. He is currently working on the Stanford Anesthesia Cognitive Aid Program and an interactive hemodynamics simulator and trainer.
Dr. Demiralp massively grew and improved our cardiothoracic ICU. This high-volume unit is now the only closed ICU with 24/7 in-house intensive care faculty presence at UW Health. She has key leadership roles at SCCM and SOCCA, including committee chair work.
Dr. Dollerschell is the fellowship program director and has funded research exploring the intersection of AI in complex decision making and in continuous hemodynamic monitoring approaches. He is one of UW Hospital’s core ultrasound and echocardiography instructors.
Dr. Feichtinger is a sought-after lecturer and instructor in POCUS and simulation-based education.
Dr. Frackman has presented and published in medical education, focused on cognitive aids and in high-fidelity and augmented-reality medical simulation.
Dr. Hammel is nationally and internationally recognized for her work in liver transplantation and played a significant role in expanding and guiding the preoperative workup and medical management of transplant recipients.
Dr. Tawil is highly involved in the ASA’s critical care & cardiothoracic committees and is a section editor for the Anesthesia Toolbox. He has published broadly in cardiothoracic anesthesiology.
Critical Care Division Chief, Dr. Long, is the site lead for multiple major multicenter research studies, including the PCCRG and SCCM’s Discover IHCA and is an expert on nonhepatic hyperammonemia and diabetes/dysglycemia and glucose measurement in the ICU and OR. He has won many prestigious educational awards and is involved in SCCM and hospital leadership.
