When a child requires critical brain and spinal care, it's a stressful and trying time for everyone in the family. At NewYork-Presbyterian, pediatric neurocritical care specialists recognize this and are ready to respond. Our world-renowned neurologists and neurosurgeons provide intensive neurologic care to infants, children, and adolescents with brain and spinal injuries, either due to trauma or disease or following complex neurosurgery. We also offer guidance and support to parents and other family members during this challenging time.
About Our Program
Dedicated Pediatric Intensive Care Units
At both NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, both Level One Trauma Centers, our dedicated pediatric intensive care units provide care around the clock to infants, children, and adolescents with life-threatening neurological illnesses and injuries as well as those recovering from major or high-risk neurosurgery. We treat children with any type of brain injury or illness, including traumatic brain or spinal injuries, status epilepticus, stroke, encephalitis, meningitis, and coma. Our units afford a level of surveillance and state-of-the-art monitoring that is unparalleled, giving children and adolescents the best chance of making a full recovery.
Multidisciplinary Team of Experts
The care of critically ill children requires a team approach, one that brings together specialists with both the expertise to provide high-quality patient care and the compassion to help children and families during this difficult time. Each child receiving neurocritical care in our hospitals has access to the skills and experience of pediatric intensivists, neurosurgeons, neurologists, neuroradiologists, orthopedic surgeons, critical care nurses, respiratory therapists, rehabilitation teams, social workers, child life specialists, speech and occupational therapists, and dietitians. The healthcare team also has access to all of the various medical and surgical subspecialists who practice at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, ensuring that all of each child's medical needs can be addressed in one center.
Our Approach to Care
A Prompt Evaluation
A prompt evaluation is critical after a suspected brain or spinal injury. If a brain injury is suspected, we'll perform a physical exam and assess your child's cognitive function through tests of attention, memory, vision, reaction time, and other mental abilities. In some cases, we perform neuroimaging such as MRI. For spinal injuries, we bring together experts in trauma care, orthopedics, neurosurgery, and physiatry to evaluate injuries to the vertebrae, spinal cord, and nearby nerves.
Holistic and Comprehensive Care
At New York-Presbyterian, we recognize that every patient with a critical brain or spinal injury has a unique combination of symptoms, circumstances, and needs. We take a holistic approach to care that considers the entire patient, including his or her physical, emotional, and social factors. We partner with patients and their parents in shared decision-making, empowering them with knowledge, support, and the most effective treatment options to address their symptoms and help them to return to their regular activities.
Family-Centered Care
Parents are key participants on their child's health care team. We encourage them to spend as much time as possible at the bedside in the Pediatric ICU with their child and to participate actively in decision-making.
Contact us
Call for an Appointment
Additional offices are located in Queens, Brooklyn, and Westchester.
NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital
Pediatric Neurology
NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital
Pediatric Neurology