Program Highlights

In addition to the outstanding education the fellows receive at a nationally renowned, quaternary care center, the following are some of the highlights specific to the University of Michigan:

  1. Emergency Critical Care Center (EC3) – Is a 14 bed Emergency Critical Care Center located in the Emergency Department and includes 4 large resuscitation bays and a 5th hybrid resuscitation bay/critical care room. The EC3 is managed by the Division of Emergency Critical Care and staffed by board certified EM-intensivists and other EM faculty with additional training in critical care.  The mission of EC3 is in harmony with the tripartite mission of the University which includes distinction in clinical care with data driven protocols, cutting edge acute critical illness research, and educating future leaders in Emergency Medicine and Critical Care.  State-of-the-art devices, monitors, and data collection systems will help us achieve this mission of excellence in all three domains. 
  1. Multi-organ transplant Center (link is external)– UM has been a leader in organ transplantation for 50 years.  Over this span, over 9,500 patients have benefited from this program.  This makes us the largest and most experienced transplant center in Michigan--and among the largest in the nation.  Transplants include; Heart, Lung, Kidney, Pancreas, Liver, Cornea, and Bone Marrow.  The critical care fellow will manage the critical care needs of these patients coordination with their respective transplant service. 
  1. ECMO – UM has been an international leader in the use of extra-corporeal life support with over 34 years of service.  Fellows are responsible for accepting and arranging all ECMO transfers and consequently gain an understanding of the logistics involved in such a task.  In addition, fellows are the only providers allowed to write ECMO orders and therefore exclusively manage the daily aspects of care.  It is expected that the fellow participate in ECMO cannulation whenever possible.  The ECMO service averages close to 100 ECMO cases each year.
  2.  CRRT – In the SICU, the fellow is responsible for initiating and maintaining patients on CRRT therapy.  Fellows are expected to write CRRT orders and become proficient in this therapy by the end of training. 
  1. Survival Flight – Our flight program has been providing benchmark life-saving transportation of our most critically ill patients for over 30 years.  Survival Flight is staffed by nurse-paramedics extremely experienced in critical illness and injury.  The program has 3 new Eurocopter EC-155B1 twin-engine helicopters with a range of 350 nautical miles at a speed of 175 mph.  The helicopters are equipped with sophisticated equipment to allow the expert crew the ability to transport complex critical care patients that require lifesaving support modalities such as IABP, ECMO, LVAD, and nitric oxide.  Survival flight ride-alongs are encouraged and extremely popular among the fellows.