Neurocritical Care Program

Support life-saving neurological care for patients in their most critical moments

Donate to Neurocritical Care and Research

At least 10-15% of all ICU admissions in the U.S. are for serious neurological emergencies—stroke, traumatic brain injury, coma, seizures, and other life-threatening conditions. For these patients, every second counts. Without rapid, specialized intervention, the consequences can be catastrophic.

As a Level 1 Trauma Center with one of the largest neuro-ICUs in the country, Barrow treats patients with the most complex neurological conditions. Thanks to donor generosity, the Neurocritical Care Program is designed to meet this challenge head-on, treating acute neurological conditions and providing aftercare for high-risk surgeries.

Your Support Contributes to Life-Saving Care

Neurocritical care is a unique discipline that combines expertise in clinical neurology and neurosurgery with critical care. This is because patients with severe neurological damage face complex challenges that impact the body’s other organ systems, necessitating specialists trained in head-to-toe care.

With support from philanthropy, Barrow has been able to recruit and retain the best and brightest in neurocritical care. All of our neuro-intensivists are fellowship trained in avoiding secondary neurological injury, recognizing potential complications, and understanding how the brain controls specific body mechanics. They also have the resources to treat the most complex cases–most people come to them on their third or fourth referral—and navigate patients through the hardest parts of their lives.

Moreover, donor support sustains Arizona’s only accredited Neurocritical Care Fellowship Program, ensuring the continued training of the next generation of leaders in this vital field.

Your Support, Their Stories

Every gift to the Neurocritical Care Program helps stabilize lives in their most critical moments. With your partnership, Barrow can continue to lead the way in neurocritical innovation—delivering hope when it matters most and ensuring that patients and families receive world-class care when they need it most.

Despite it being such a dark time, there was so much beauty in the care, compassion, and thoughtfulness we experienced. I couldn’t imagine going anywhere other than Barrow.

College student Brielle came home for a long weekend. Six weeks later, she emerged from a coma in the Neuro-Intensive Care Unit at Barrow.

You Advance Research That Transforms Care

Brain Resilience in Severe Stroke

The team is studying changes in the brain’s microenvironment after patients experience a large vessel occlusion stroke, a severe blockage in a major artery in the brain. Since ‘time is brain’, the goal is to improve resilience to the blockage while doctors work on reopening the blood vessels so that patients have minimal disability.

Inflammation and Brain Swelling After TBI

After a traumatic brain injury (TBI), patients can experience secondary injuries such as inflammation, swelling, and cell death, which cause more than 50% of death and disability. The team is investigating a specific type of cell death that can be targeted for treatment, potentially improving recovery for millions with TBI.

Sex-Specific Responses to Acute Brain injury

Research suggests that males and females are differently susceptible to both immediate and long-term damage after acute brain injuries like aneurysm rupture/subarachnoid hemorrhage and TBI. To better understand these differences, the team is studying the sex-specific effects of different drugs like glibenclamide and others in preclinical and organoid models.

Brain Resilience and Regeneration in Acute Brain Injury

In many different types of brain injury (stroke, aneurysm rupture, TBI), it is the body’s response that can make the difference between damage and disability versus healing and recovery. The team is using models of regeneration and advanced techniques at an individual cell level to help restore function and improve recovery.

Using Brain Organoids to Advance Personalized Medicine

The team is collaborating with an organoid laboratory at Arizona State University to combine patient samples and data with human brain organoids grown on a dish to test how injury signals are spread, how recovery occurs, and the impact of different treatments to advance personalized medicine

White Matter and Brain Health

By analyzing vast amounts of neuroimaging and genetic data, the team aims to identify patterns in white matter distribution in the brain and correlate them to neurological disease.

Discover More Programs

At Barrow Neurological Foundation, your donation is crucial in supporting three key areas: advanced patient care, curative research, and education for the next generation of neuroscientists. Learn more about how your donation impacts each of the areas we treat.