The new eight-bed, $5-million Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) that opened earlier this year at St. Luke’s University Hospital-Bethlehem Campus has welcomed Christopher Plymire, MD, as its Medical Director.

Dr. Plymire graduated from Jefferson College of Medicine in 2010 and completed his Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship in 2016 at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children in Delaware.

He had been working at duPont and Cooper University Hospital, Camden, N.J., as a pediatric intensivist since 2016. While at duPont, Dr. Plymire also served as the ICU liaison for local and international solid organ transplantation, assisted in Level I trauma recertification, and the creation of the pediatric bedside vascular access team.

“I am excited to be part of developing the new PICU at St. Luke’s during a time when the Network is heavily investing in pediatrics,” Dr. Plymire says.

“I am thrilled to work with the team to continue expanding our services allowing the department to keep critically ill children in our St. Luke’s Network, and more importantly in their own community, close to home,” says Plymire.

St. Luke’s Pediatric Intesive Care Unit cares for patients who require intensive physician and nursing care with continuous multi-system monitoring. The unit is furnished with the latest technologies, including mechanical ventilation and dialysis equipment.

PICU intensivists collaborate with St. Luke’s pediatric specialists in 13 specialty areas to manage care for children suffering from a variety of illnesses such as severe respiratory distress, infections, serious injury and heart disease. The pediatric critical care intensivists are available 24 hours a day.

The PICU is one aspect of St. Luke’s expansion of and investment in its pediatric services, including primary care, specialty care and inpatient care.

St. Luke’s University Health Network has seen significant growth over the last few years in its specialty pediatric care. It has specialists employed in 13 pediatric sub-specialty areas. The most recent addition is pediatric surgery.

Recent investments in specialty and critical care has allowed patients to remain in the community for advanced levels of pediatric care.

The Network plans to continue expansion of pediatric services in the year ahead with new providers in a variety of outpatient areas such as orthopedics.