Conditions Treated
- Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
- Acute Respirtory Failure
- Multi-Organ Failure
- Sepsis Syndrome
Research Areas
- Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) Net Investigator
- Respiratory failure in spinal cord injury
- Gender:
- Female
Education & Training
Education
- 1986
- Princeton University, BA
- 1990
- Vanderbilt University, MD
Fellowship
- 1993-1997
- University of Colorado Denver, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Internships
- 1990-1993
- Johns Hopkins Hospital, Internal Medicine
Biography
My current practice is devoted to Critical Care Medicine. I spend 80% of my time in active clinical practice at Swedish Medical Center, a 350-bed regional referral hospital in southeast metro Denver, hosting a Level 1 Trauma Center and a Comprehensive Stroke Center. Swedish houses a 42-bed ICU with a mixed medical, neurological, and surgical critical care population. Swedish ICU provides care for a large population of spinal-cord injury and traumatic brain injury patients from the adjacent Craig Rehabilitation Hospital, a NIDRR Model Systems Center. National Jewish Health Critical Care Medicine specialists staff the Swedish ICU 24-7, bringing their practice, teaching and clinical research expertise. Swedish Medical Center is a research site for the ARDS net.
I spend 20% of my time in the administrative and teaching activities detailed below. My main focus is on developing evidenced-based clinical protocols and tracking quality metrics in the Swedish ICU. I serve on a variety of medical staff committees at Swedish, including the Department of Medicine and the Code Blue, Infection Prevention, Pharmacy and Therapeutics, and Quality committees.
Special Interests
Clinical Interests
My clinical interests are currently in critical care medicine, including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), mechanical ventilation weaning strategies, mechanical ventilation of spinal cord injury patients, sepsis, early mobilization in mechanically vented patients, and neuro-critical care. I am an ARDSnet investigator.
Board Certification
1993: Internal Medicine
1996, 2010: Pulmonary Medicine
1997, 2010: Critical Care Medicine
Teaching or Professional Positions
2006 - present: Medical Director, Intensive Care Unit, Swedish Medical Center
2011 - present: Medical Director, Respiratory Care, Swedish Medical Center
2010 - present: Instructor, Fundamentals of Critical Care Support (FCCS)
1990 - present: ACLS certification
Affiliations with the University of Colorado Denver
Assistant Professor, Family Practice residency program, University of Colorado
Professional Memberships
American College of Chest Physicians, Fellow
American Thoracic Society
Colorado Medical Society
Colorado Thoracic Society
Neurocritical Care Society
Society of Critical Care Medicine
Awards & Recognition
2010: National Jewish Health, Clinician of the Year, Hospital-based Medicine
2006: Colorado Society for Respiratory Care, Physician of the Year
2008-2012: Swedish Hospital, Dala Award
