Dr. Julie Kromm
“These disorders don't discriminate,” says Kromm. They affect people of all ages, sexes, races, and geographic locations. They also make up 20 per cent of intensive care unit admissions in Calgary and Southern Alberta. In 2023, Kromm and her team received funding from Calgary Health Foundation for the Neurocritical Care Expansion Project, aimed at advancing clinical care, research, and education. The project has already positioned Calgary as an internationally recognized leader in neurocritical care and saved lives along the way. IMPROVED PATIENT CARE New equipment purchased through the funding means improved care for patients. With new ultrasound machines, Kromm’s team of neurointensivists can perform specialized and necessary procedures in a safe manner. New electroencephalogram (EEG) machines help manage patients with uncontrollable seizures. Other equipment helps track patients’ response to their brain injuries and treatment interventions, facilitating individualized care instead of a one-size-fits-all approach. Being able to provide this improved neurocritical care can make all the difference for patients. Kromm recalls when a teenager came into her care with a severe traumatic brain injury after a ski accident. He was in a comatose state. The specialized neuro monitors allowed them to constantly assess and adjust their interventions to ensure his brain had the best chance of healing. “Without that neuromonitoring, this young man would have continued to experience high pressures in his brain causing ongoing injury and worsening his chances of getting back to the person he was before,” explains Kromm. “Thankfully, the patient recovered well and is now back home with family, thriving at school, and competing in high-level sports competitions.” Despite how dire his condition was, the neurocritical interventions this patient received made it possible for him to not only survive his injuries but fully recover from them. RESEARCH AND EDUCATION Through collaborative studies with other teams, Kromm and her team have helped identify new hemoglobin levels that help ensure sufficient oxygen to the brain in patients with life-threatening brain disorders. Before this, target levels were based on studies that didn’t include this patient group. The program’s research also focuses on neurocritical patients who have suffered cardiac arrest, a leading cause of severe, acute brain injury due to oxygen deprivation, to determine the best way to individualize their care. In 2021, the project established a world-class fellowship program to train the next generation of neurointensivists. Now, with a steady stream of fellows, Kromm’s team has shifted to creating education for frontline healthcare workers to share the most advanced knowledge and skills for the care of neurocritical patients. “I truly hope that in the coming years, with the ongoing advancement of the program, we’ll have a trickle-down effect, or even a tidal wave, that spreads worldwide and helps establish other neurocritical care units,” says Kromm. “My biggest hope is that everything we do, whether it’s clinical work, education, or research, gets more patients back home doing what they love with the people they love.”
Life-threatening brain disorders, such as traumatic brain injuries, bleeds, infections, stroke, and seizures, can be devastating, both for patients and their families. They require immediate emergency care as they often cause rapid, severe cognitive and/or physical decline. Dr. Julie Kromm leads the development of an advanced neurocritical care program in Calgary, helping patients with life-threatening neurological disorders get back to normal life. “Neurocritical care is the first link in the chain of survival and recovery for those patients,” says Kromm. This care provides specialized treatment for patients with life-threatening brain disorders. IMPROVING RECOVERY AFTER A BRAIN EMERGENCY Advanced neurocritical care means patients are more likely to return to their normal lives. By Olivia Piché
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Breakthroughs [ Spring 2026 ]
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