Elizabeth K. Powell, MD

I am an emergency, transport, and critical care physician with specific training in extracorporeal support. During my four years as an emergency physician with the University of Cincinnati, I also served as the medical director of the ground critical care transport service and the associate medical director of the air transport service (Air Care) where I was also a flight physician.

During my time as medical director, we started a ground ECMO transport service During my critical care fellowship, 6 months a year was spent in our cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) where we cared for various devices including intra-aortic balloon pumps, veno-venous and veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation VV/VA ECMO), and impellas. I also completed 30 ECMO transports during my fellowship.

Since August of 2020 I have worked for the University of Maryland Medical Center and the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. I work primarily in the Cardiac Surgery ICU (CSICU) where I regularly manage central and peripheral VA ECMO, VV ECMO and various mechanical circulatory support devices. I also work in the Critical Care Resuscitation Unit (CCRU) where we accept ECMO candidates and regularly cannulate and manage these patients until they can be transferred to their destination ICU. I am also responsible for ECMO transport development for the Shock Trauma Go Team and in this role I am assisting the Director of the Go Team to develop ECMO transport capabilities throughout the state of Maryland. 

In addition to my civilian experience, I am a Major in the United States Air Force and Reservist Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) attached to the Special Operations Surgical Teams (SOST) as an emergency services physician (44E3A). Recently, I was tasked with creating an extracorporeal support proposal for the development of this capability for SOST in forward, austere environments. I have been awarded two Department of Defense Grants to study training SOST personnel in the cannulation and management of VV ECMO and to study VV ECMO in austere environments. 

My civilian and military experiences have given me expertise in the management of ECMO and the transport of these critically ill patients.

emergency medicine, cardiac surgery icu, critical care resuscitation unit, shock trauma