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The Gail Federici-Smith and Family Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) has a vital role in the care of patients at Boston Children’s Benderson Family Heart Center. With more than 40 beds, our facility is one of the largest and most sophisticated intensive care units in the country that is dedicated solely to the care of critically ill children who have acquired and congenital heart conditions.

From individualized treatment of your child’s condition to personalized support of your entire family, our team at the CICU ensures your child and family receive the best possible care in a comforting environment.

How the CICU cares for cardiac disease

With decades of collective experience, our team has the expertise to care for some of the most complex cases in the world, annually caring for more than 1,000 patients who just had cardiac surgery or who need non-surgical treatment for acquired or congenital heart disease. We also treat adults who have developed complications or need further procedures as a result of long-standing or a previously treated congenital heart defect (CHD).

We consider you and your child integral parts of our care team. We specialize in family-centered care; during your hospital stay, you’ll work with a team of multidisciplinary experts who are committed to supporting all of your family’s needs. Our team includes:

We work closely with specialized teams within Boston Children’s that focus on developing and providing innovative care for a variety of congenital and acquired cardiovascular conditions. Those programs include:

And we collaborate with obstetricians at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to provide specialized care for newborns who have congenital heart disease. We’re part of consultations before birth so that families can have a smooth transfer to the CICU after delivery.

Early intervention improves outcomes

We believe that early intervention to repair CHD and treat cardiac conditions in newborns and infants will enhance their growth and development. We’re able to make early intervention a priority because of our expertise and access to cutting-edge technology. Some of the improvements we’ve made on this front include advanced diagnostic procedures and imaging of the heart, effective monitoring techniques to closely measure changes in patient care management, innovative and safe surgical techniques, and the latest cardiopulmonary bypass approaches.

Recognized for clinical excellence

Our staff members are recognized as experts in the field of pediatric cardiac critical care. They are often involved in clinical and translational research studies, and many have authored original articles, chapters, and textbooks. The success of our program has served as a model for the development of cardiac intensive care programs across the U.S. and around the world.

Also, our CICU nursing team has been honored with the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence, which recognizes individual critical care units that have met rigid criteria for excellence in patient outcomes, care quality, patient safety, interdisciplinary practice, innovation, and family-centered care.

Training future intensive care specialists

We’re fully committed to training the next generation of physicians and nurses. The medical directors of many pediatric cardiac intensive care units are graduates of our teaching and training programs. We train cardiologists, intensivists, and anesthesiologists in pediatric cardiac critical care as part of the ACGME-approved pediatric cardiology and critical care programs, as well as advanced fellowship training in our Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Fellowship program.