Critical Care Medicine
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine provides expert, multidisciplinary care for a broad spectrum of conditions impact infants, children and teenagers within the UNC Children’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU). Providers deploy a wide-variety of treatments and life support functions such as cardiac ECMO. In addition to superior patient care, the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship is one of the premier multidisciplinary training programs in the Southeast. Our faculty are leaders throughout Pediatrics and UNC Health, including the Clinical Skills and Patient Simulation Center, the Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvement, TeamSTEPPS™, and Pediatric Schwartz Center Rounds.
PEDIATRIC CRITICAL CARE NEWS
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Smith Promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Melissa Smith, MD was promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics effective December 1, 2025. Dr. Smith has been a faculty member in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine since 2018. Congratulations!
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Walker Joins SCCM ICU Centers of Excellence Oversight Workgroup
Dr. Traci Walker, Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Critical Care Medicine, has been asked to join the newly convened ICU Centers of Excellence Oversight Workgroup, a project within the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM).
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Welcome New Physician Faculty: Ann B. Sweeney, MD
Dr. Sweeney joined the Department of Pediatrics as faculty in the Division of Critical Care Medicine on October 31, 2025. Dr. Sweeney received her BA in Zoology in 2001 from Connecticut College. She earned her medical degree in 2010 from the University of Utah in Salt Lake. She completed her pediatric residency at the University of Rochester in New Your in 2013. She completed a Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship and subsequently a Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Fellowship at Duke University Hospital in 2017. Most recently Dr. Sweeney has been an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital.
Welcome Ann! -
Reade Recognized for Exemplary Infection Prevention Contributions
The Friends of Epidemiology honored Erin Parrish Reade, MD, MPH, FAAP, Pediatric Critical Care, with a 2025 Friend of Epidemiology Award for her exceptional leadership in infection prevention in the PICU. She has been a true champion of CLABSI reduction.