Overview
When your child is seriously ill or injured, you want the best care possible from a team with the compassion and skills to meet your child’s and family’s needs. At New-York-Presbyterian Queens, children who need a higher level of care than they would receive in a hospital pediatric inpatient unit can be treated in our new Pediatric Intermediate Care Unit (PIMU). This five-bed unit serves acutely ill children and others with illnesses that require more frequent monitoring and attention. Our pediatric hospitalists serve as your child’s primary physician and then transition care back to your pediatrician when your child is ready to go home.
About Our Program
A Team of Specialists
At NewYork-Presbyterian Queens, everyone who works in the Pediatric Intermediate Care Unit shares a dedication to caring for children. Your child’s care team includes pediatric hospitalists — physicians who work within the hospital to make sure your child receives all the care they need. The PIMU at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens is one of the first in New York with round-the-clock pediatric hospitalist coverage. This means that children who come to our hospital have clinicians with unique expertise and skills in a variety of areas:
- Experience treating a wide range of diseases and disorders
- Excellent communication with the pediatric subspecialists at NewYork-Presbyterian
- Hands-on expertise in specialized procedures such as placing intravenous (IV) lines, urinary catheterization, and lumbar puncture
- Coordination of your child’s care, including discharging your child to go home from the hospital, ensuring follow-up appointments with your pediatrician and subspecialists, and arranging for outpatient equipment, if needed
A pediatric hospitalist is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long.
In addition, your child can receive care from any of the pediatric subspecialists in our hospital, such as doctors from:
- pediatric cardiology (heart care)
- neurology (nervous system care)
- gastroenterology (digestive care)
- pulmonology (lung care)
- general surgery
- urology (care of the urinary and reproductive tracts)
- orthopedics (musculoskeletal care).
Whatever treatment your child needs, the hospitalist will arrange it.
Our Services
Children admitted to the PIMU can receive:
- Monitoring of heart and lung function (cardiopulmonary monitoring)
- Closer monitoring by nurses
- Arterial puncture
- Respiratory therapy and noninvasive respiratory support
- Close monitoring and medical management after surgery
Dedicated Monitoring for Children with Seizures
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens is the only hospital in the borough with a pediatric video electroencephalography (VEEG) program. We have beds in our PIMU that are hard-wired to observe and track seizures in children with epilepsy and other seizure disorders. Close monitoring allows our doctors to determine the best types and doses of antiseizure medication needed to control a child’s seizures.
Our Approach To Care
Holistic and Comprehensive Care
At NewYork-Presbyterian Queens, we recognize that every child with a medical condition has a unique set of symptoms, circumstances, and needs. We take a holistic approach to care that considers the entire patient, including their physical, emotional, and social factors. We partner with patients and their families in shared decision-making, empowering them with knowledge, support, and the most effective treatment options to achieve the best possible outcome for every child.
We’re Here for Your Family
We understand how important it is to be by your child’s side during their stay. Each inpatient room has a comfortable sleeper chair to allow a caregiver to stay overnight. We provide daily meals for one caregiver so you do not have to leave your child’s bedside. Parents may visit their children at any time of the day or night.
Easing the Hospital Experience
To make your child’s experience in the hospital as pleasant as possible, our warm, specially trained child life specialists interact with your child through activities and support them during certain clinical procedures. They aim to relieve anxiety and help your child adjust to the hospital setting. We also have pain management experts who help your child feel as comfortable as possible. To help ease your child’s stay, we provide free television, iPads, and a playroom.
Parents As Team Members
As a parent, only you can provide important information about your child. You can also help other team members shape your child’s personalized treatment program based on your child’s physical, emotional, and practical needs. Your input is critical for making final decisions regarding your child’s care and our multidisciplinary team is here to work alongside you and your family to achieve the greatest possible outcomes for your child.
Why Choose Us
Ensuring a High-Quality Patient Experience
All of our Pediatric Intermediate Care Unit staff are specially trained to ensure a high-quality experience during your child’s hospital stay. Our goal is to enhance communication between healthcare staff and patients. From the moment they walk through our doors, our warm and caring staff will put your child at ease. Our staff will take the time to introduce themselves, and you’ll learn each of their roles in caring for your child. As much as we can, we explain the duration of each test, procedure, visit, or hospital stay. We will describe what you can expect, answer any questions, and let you know how to contact us if you need something.
Seamless Access to World-Class Medical Experts
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian & Weill Cornell Medicine, an Ivy League medical school that is among the nation’s best in patient care, medical education, and research. We offer many of the highly specialized services typically found in an academic medical center, but without the commute to Manhattan and in the comfortable setting of a local community hospital. Your child has access to the world-class resources available through our affiliations with the NewYork-Presbyterian healthcare network, ensuring that they receive the most advanced care close to home.
Affiliated with Nationally Ranked Children’s Hospitals
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens offers young patients seamless access to two renowned children’s hospitals, NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital. Both hospitals are among the nation’s leading centers for diagnosing and treating childhood diseases. They are major referral centers for complex and rare disorders in infants, children, and adolescents.
5-Star Quality Rating
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens has received the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 5-star Quality rating, becoming the only hospital in Queens to achieve this recognition. This prestigious rating reflects our unwavering commitment to providing patients with the highest level of quality patient care.