Controversies
Hannah Wunsch, MD, MSc, FCCM
Professor
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose.
Amy Dzierba, BCCCP, PharmD, FCCP
Critical Care Pharmacist
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
New York, NY
Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose.
The specialty of critical care medicine is relatively new, with ICUs emerging in the 1950s and 1960s. The history of our specialty has been bookended by epidemic diseases and responses to public health emergencies. On the 70th anniversary of the first ICU in Copenhagen, this session will outline the ways in which specific public health emergencies—polio, influenza, and COVID-19—have been key drivers of innovation in the field. Speakers will discuss how to balance the future need for continued experimentation against the inherent risks of high-stakes changes in care.