Hospital Experience
The inpatient service comprises four general areas: neonatal intensive care, general pediatrics, intermediate care, and pediatric intensive care.
The NICU is a state-designated level IV 50-bed unit with 750 admissions annually. Residents are responsible both for bedside patient care and attendance at high-risk or complicated births. The NICU is managed by our neonatologists.
The General Pediatrics Unit is a 26-bed unit with 2000 admissions annually. Children with surgical and medical problems are admitted to this unit and are cared for by the pediatric housestaff. All floor teams are supervised by a ward attending who is either a generalist or subspecialist.
The Intermediate Care Unit has 12 beds with about 1000 admissions annually; it, too, is a mixed medical/surgical area. This area is reserved for children who do not require admission to the PICU but are too ill for the General Pediatrics Unit. Some patients are graduates of the PICU; others are admitted from the Emergency Department, operating room or General Pediatrics Unit. Once again, all Children, regardless of the admitting service, are followed by pediatric housestaff
The PICU is a 17-bed mixed medical/surgical unit with approximately 1100 admissions annually. The pediatric house staff have primary responsibility for all patients admitted to the PICU. Both the Intermediate Care Unit and the PICU are managed by one of our pediatric intensivists. Albany Medical Center is the regional Trauma Center for severely injured children; it also maintains a pediatric cardiac surgery program.
An active air and ground service transports critically ill or unstable children and neonates. Third-year residents are an integral part of the transport team. All new residents complete a pediatric advanced life support course; they complete a transport course at the beginning of the year III.
Albany Medical Center is also the major teaching institution of Albany Medical College, allowing residents to work closely with third- and fourth-year medical students.
