Stanford Neurocritical Care Program

Since its inception in the year 2000, the Stanford neurocritical care program has provided unparalleled care for patients with critical neurologic illness. The neurocritical care faculty currently consists of five physicians in the department of neurology and neurological sciences, all of whom are fellowship trained in stroke and neurocritical care.

The neurocritical care team provides 24 hour clinical coverage of the neurocritical care unit, the emergency room, and the other inpatient units at Stanford, caring for patients with primary neurologic illness, neurological complications of systemic illness, and neurological emergencies. All members of the neurocritical care faculty also have training in neurovascular disease and frequently cover acute stroke call responsibilities and inpatient care for stroke patients.

The diseases treated by a neurocritical care physician are broad, and include stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, traumatic brain injury, brain injury after cardiac arrest, seizures, spinal cord injury, neuromuscular disorders, and many others. In addition to the breadth and depth of the clinical activities, the Stanford neurocritical group has a long history of experience and success in performing clinical trials and basic science research. As one of the leading neurocritical care research groups in the country, there are over ten ongoing clinical trials in neurocritical care and robust basic science and translational research programs. Recognizing that the treatments of tomorrow are rooted in the research of today, all of the neurocritical care faculty members participate extensively in this research mission. 

The Stanford neurocritical care group is committed to rigorously training future generations of stroke and neurointensive care physicians. The faculty work closely to focus on neurocritical care training for the neurology stroke and neurocritical care fellows, neurosurgery vascular fellows, and surgical and medical critical care fellows, and they train Stanford neurology and neurosurgery residents and medical students as well. Graduates from our UCNS certified neurocritical care fellowship have gone on to work in a variety of practice settings and make significant contributions to the field.