by Erin Lyons, CPNP, CNS, MSN, CCRN

The summer sun doesn’t just mean an increase in the PICU trauma census. It is also a time when we say goodbye to our senior fellows, and welcome a group of pediatricians eager to enter the critical care subspecialty.
Congratulations to our graduating fellows Darci Evans, Diana Bruno and Jose Decamps! We wish them well as they transition to the next phase in their careers. Darci has accepted an offer to stay with us at Harbor-UCLA as a PICU Attending and Pediatric Hospitalist, and we are so thrilled. You will likely see her around the hospital even when she is not on service in PICU. She will also be helping to lead the pediatric sedation services. Jose is headed across town to pursue an additional year of fellowship training in cardiac intensive care at Children Hospital Los Angeles. Diana will be finishing her fellowship on September 30th due to maternity leave after the addition of her first child, Lila. She is currently working on teaching Lila how to return pages when she’s on- call. When that training is successfully completed, she will start her job search.
Sadly, we will also be saying goodbye to Annie Trent, who has decided to exit the fellowship program early. We wish her the best of luck as she transitions into motherhood at the end of this year.

Meet Our Incoming Fellows

Jason Vargas
picu1“I grew up in the Tucson, AZ desert, then decided to move to Columbus, OH because I thought living in snow would be fun. I decided cold weather was not for me, and moved back to Arizona to attend medical school and residency at Phoenix Children’s Hospital/Maricopa Medical Center. It was my first week into residency when I was exposed to a critical patient in respiratory failure. The attending went through the patient’s condition, the physiology behind it, and applied concepts from medical school that I thought I would never use. I have been hooked ever since. Now I’m here in California, which is a huge relief as my wife Rose is a PGY-4 surgery resident at Kaiser Sunset. We met in medical school, married in May of this year, and have been living a harmonious life together ever since.”

Linette Ewing
picu2“I’m originally from Spirit Lake, IA. I attended medical school at Des Moines University on a US Navy scholarship. I completed transitional internship at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, VA. While in the Navy, I worked as a Naval Flight Surgeon in Norfolk, VA and Pensacola, FL where I learned to fly helicopters. I met my husband Chris, in the Navy and we have two children Katie, 4 and Will, 3. I completed my time with the Navy and moved from San Diego to Indianapolis, IN for pediatric residency at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. I chose to pursue a critical care fellowship because working the PICU was my favorite part of residency. When I’m not working I like running, biking, baking, traveling, and wine tasting.”

Kate Mc Menamen
picu3“I’m originally from New Jersey USA (insert fist pump here) attended Western University in Pomona, CA, internship at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, NH; and residency at Harbor-UCLA. I chose PICU because it challenges me to treat patients and their families comprehensively- from the first whole body trauma survey to the decimal point on their blood gas pH. The knowledge base needed to be an amazing PICU doctor is astounding, and I will be working hard in fellowship to develop it. And of course, the rewards are unequaled. On post call days I love taking my twin girls to L.A.Kings games, visiting Anna and Elsa at Disneyland, and taking naps at the beach. I am also a PSIA certified Ski Instructor from Big Sky, Montana!”