Baptist Memorial Health Care hires second intensivist for pediatric intensive care unit

MEMPHIS, Tenn., - Baptist announced today that Dr. Victor Uduaghan will serve as a pediatric intensivist at the Spence and Becky Wilson Baptist Children’s Hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit, which opened two of its 12 beds in August.

The remaining 10 beds are scheduled to open in Dec. 2016.

In July, hospital leadership announced Dr. Mark J. Heulitt, formerly a pediatric intensivist at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, had come on board as the medical director of the pediatric intensive care unit.

The PICU is the latest addition to Baptist’s growing pediatric services, according to Kevin Hammeran, administrator and CEO of Baptist Children’s Hospital and Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women.

A pediatric intensive care unit is an area within a hospital specializing in the care of critically-ill infants, children and teenagers. According to Hammeran, a PICU is often the next step in the care of a sick child and will help the Children’s Hospital provide a continuum of care for area families.

Since opening its 10-bed emergency department in Jan. 2015, the Children’s Hospital has seen steady high volumes, averaging about 45 patients a day with staff seeing an all-time high of more than 100 patients in one day, according to Baptist officials.

The addition of the PICU will be a natural place to transition those patients who require an extra level of care—helping alleviate the need to transfer patients, which can be disruptive to children and families, according to Hammeran.

Hammeran added that the Children’s Hospital is steadily becoming a strong and viable option for pediatric care, with its central location, which is easily accessible from the Interstate-240. Plus, the hospital has attracted a diverse patient mix, with 75 percent of emergency department visitors being Medicaid patients.

“Dr. Uduaghan is a perfect addition to help build our pediatric intensive care unit,” said Hammeran. “He and Dr. Heulitt form a dynamic team and will help us take our pediatric care to a whole new level.”

Uduaghan served as an assistant professor of pediatrics at Rutgers University in New Jersey where he also practiced critical care medicine at various hospitals for 10 years. He earned his medical degree from University of Benin College of Medicine in Nigeria and completed his internship at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. Uduaghan is board-certified in general pediatrics and pediatric critical care medicine by the American Board of Pediatrics.

Uduaghan obtained a master of public health degree specifically in Healthcare Policy and Management from Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York City.

A member of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the National Association of Healthcare Quality, he is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

To find out more about the Spence and Becky Wilson Baptist Children’s Hospital, please visit baptistonline.org/pediatrics.