Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)

The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Tripler Army Medical Center is a four-bed multidisciplinary unit that provides family-centered care for infants, children, and young adults who are critically ill or require intensive nursing care for severe or life-threatening illnesses, conditions, or injuries. Conditions that are commonly treated in our PICU include but are not limited to: severe infections, poisonings, trauma, extensive surgeries, immunological disorders, malignancies and congenital anomalies.   

Our PICU team is comprised of Pediatric Intensivists (physicians who specialize in caring for pediatric patients requiring intensive care), pediatric residents (physicians who are training to specialize in pediatrics), PICU-trained critical care nurses, Child Life Specialists, Pediatric Nurse Case Managers, and other allied medical care professionals that specialize in treating children. The PICU supports all pediatric subspecialty services at Tripler Army Medical Center, provides consultation services for the Western Pacific Region, coordinates pediatric aeromedical transfers (urgent and routine) of patients through the Pacific Rim, and supports the pediatric Rapid Response and pediatric resuscitation team.

We are committed to providing high quality, family-centered medical care for the children of active duty and retired service members as well as eligible beneficiaries from the Pacific Island Nations.   
   
Visitation hours are
8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily, including Federal Holidays and Training Holidays. Visiting hours are unrestricted for parents/legal guardians with the exception of 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. for shift change.

Visitation guidelines during COVID-19

• Visitation limited to parents or legal guardians only
• Two parents or legal guardians are allowed at bedside
• Face masks are required

Standard visitation guidelines:

• All visitors must be accompanied by a parent/legal guardian
• No more than two visitors at the bedside at a time, one of which needs to be a parent or legal guardian.
• All visitors must be at least 18 years of age with the exception of siblings.
• All guests will be screened prior to entering the PICU to ensure all visitors are healthy (no colds, flu, infectious disease, diarrhea, vomiting, etc.).
• Parents and visitors must remain in their child’s room for confidentiality and infection control reasons. Please do not visit other patient rooms or linger outside the patient doors.

FAQ's:

Q: What is family-centered care?
A: Family centered care engages the patient and families to be a part of the healthcare team. Families are highly encouraged to participate in bedside rounds and the decision making process to develop a plan of care that is tailored to meet the needs of the patient and the family unit.

Q: What is bedside rounds?
A: Bedside rounds is a multidisciplinary huddle at your child’s bedside to discuss your child’s plan of care. Bedside rounds usually occurs between 09:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. every day and includes the physician team, nurses, parents, patient, and other medical care professionals.  

Q: Can parents stay overnight?
A: Only one parent or legal guardian may spend the night at the bedside. A sleep chair and blankets will be provided.

Q: What is shift change and what happens during shift change?
A: Shift change is the time of the day where your child’s healthcare team is changing nursing personnel. During this time, nursing report is being conducted between day shift and night shift. Since valuable and confidential information is shared, we ask that parents refrain from entering and exiting the unit during shift change. If parents are already in the unit, we ask that they remain in their child’s room until shift change is complete. Minimizing disruption during shift change is essential in providing the most optimal care for your child.

We accept customer satisfaction feedback through our FOCUS "For Our Customer's Ultimate Satisfaction" Cards (located throughout the hospital) and through our Interactive Customer Evaluation (ICE) site located on the Internet at http://ice.disa.mil. If you have any questions, you may contact our Customer Relations office.