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Critical Care medicine

Meet Our Team - Critical Care

Dr. JoynerBenny L. Joyner Jr., MD, MPH, FCCM

  • Chief, Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
  • Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, and Social Medicine
  • Director, UNC Clinical Skills and Patient Simulation Center (CSPSC)
  • Vice Chair, Hospital Inpatient Services, Department of Pediatrics

Clinical Interests: Airway inflammation in pediatric patients suffering from inhalation injury, human simulation, and team training.

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Dr. Boyd

Jenny M. Boyd, MD

  • Associate Professor, Pediatrics and Anesthesiology

  • Medical Director, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

  • Associate Chief Medical Officer for Credentialing and Medical Staff Services, UNC Hospitals

  • Faculty, UNC Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvements

Clinical Interests: Delirium, Sedation Practices in the ICU, Quality Improvement, Team Training, and Patient Safety

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Katherine C. Clement, MD

Katherine C. Clement, MD

  • Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology

Clinical Interests: Anesthesiology and pediatric critical care, Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS).

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Margaret Kihlstrom, MD

Margaret Kihlstrom, MD

  • Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology

Clinical Interests: Anesthesiology, pediatric critical care, sedation.

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Daniel Matthew Lercher, MD

Daniel Lercher, MD

  • Assistant Professor of of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology
  • Co-Medical Director, Children's AirCare

Clinical Interests: Neuro-critical care, transport medicine, quality improvement, patient safety

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Afsaneh Pirzadeh, MD

Afsaneh Pirzadeh, MD

  • Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology

Clinical Interests: Staff support, end-of-life care, ethics

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Matthew Pizzuto

Matthew Pizzuto, MD

  • Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology

Clinical Interests: Cardiac Intensive Care, Pulmonary hypertension, Research, Simulation

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Erin Reade, MD

Erin Reade, MD, MPH

  • Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology

Clinical Interests: Care of technology dependent children, non-invasive ventilation, pediatric trauma

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Stephanie Schwartz, MD

Stephanie Schwartz, MD

  • Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology
  • Associate Fellowship Director, PCCM

Clinical Interests: Pediatric Critical Care, anesthesiology, quality improvement and safety, ECMO.

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Paul Leo Shea, MD

Paul Shea, MD

  • Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology
  • Fellowship Program Director

Clinical Interests: Simulation in undergraduate and graduate medical education, team training

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Melissa Smith

Melissa Smith, MD

  • Assistant Professor, Pediatrics and Anesthesiology

Clinical Interests: Pediatric clinical care, trauma critical care, interdisciplinary simulation, team communication

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Rebecca Smith, MD

Rebecca Smith, MD

  • Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology

Clinical Interests: Traumatic brain injury, palliative care, transport medicine.

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Tracie Walker

Tracie Walker, MD

  • Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology

Clinical Interests: quality improvement to optimize sedation, prevent and recognize delirium and promote early mobilization of our pediatric ICU patients

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Fellows

Third Year

Dennis Leung

Dennis Leung, MD

Residency: Loma Linda Children’s Hospital
Medical School: Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Med & Science

Second Year

LeeAnne Flygt

LeeAnne Flygt, MD

Residency: University of North Carolina
Medical School: University of Michigan Medical School

Jeremy Sites

Jeremy Sites, MD

Residency: University of Florida
Medical School: University of Kentucky College of Medicine

First Year

Robin Atha, MD

Robin Atha, MD

Residency: Rush University
Medical School: Georgia School of Medicine

Christen Seaman, MD

Christen Seaman, MD

Residency: University of Louisville
Medical School: Wright State University- Boonshoft School of Medicine

Administrative Staff

  • Melissa Halkovic
    Division Administrator
  • Charlotte Weaver, MS
    Administrative Director
  • Amy Spruance
    Administrative Specialist

Faculty from the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine lead several important UNC Children's program, including:

  • Afsaneh Pirzadeh, MD, directs UNC Children's Pediatric Rapid Response System, the first of its kind in North Carolina.
  • Afsaneh Pirzadeh, MD, is the physician leader for the Pediatric Schwartz Center Rounds, the first pediatric rounds established in North Carolina to provide staff support.
  • Two members of our faculty, Benny Joyner, MD and Afsaneh Pirzadeh, MD, have taken the initiative of becoming TeamSTEPPS™ Master Trainers. They have implemented this training throughout the division and in many other departments in the hospital in an effort to encourage communication, improve patient care and enhance the teamwork environment.
  • Jenny Boyd, MD and Katie Clement, MD, are actively involved in developing new clinical pathways, establishing new clinical protocols and heading all of the quality improvement efforts.
  • Katie Clement, MD, is involved in improving our ECMO program and introducing new technologies to UNC in an effort to continue to provide the best care available for our little patients.

Read tips and advice from other parents who’ve had a child in the PICU about ways you can care for your child and your family during this time.

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