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Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Certification in Acute Rehabilitation Excellence – ICU

The Johns Hopkins Certification in Acute Rehabilitation Excellence – ICU (JH CARE-ICU) is an inter-professional certification program that prepares frontline therapists to collaborate within a team while developing discipline-specific knowledge and skills to deliver evidence-based rehabilitation and improve patient outcomes in the ICU.

Course Overview

Details

Format: In-person + virtual content
Dates: November 4 & 5, 2025 (virtual content available September 1, 2025)
Location: Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, 525 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205

Registration

CARE-ICU Certification Competency (in-person + virtual):

  • Early bird pricing: $980, ends September 12, 2025
  • Regular pricing: $1,225, registration ends October 28, 2025

CARE-ICU virtual content only: $490

CARE-ICU Certification Competency + ICURehab Conference Package:

  • Early bird pricing: $1,250, ends September 12, 2025
  • Regular pricing: $1,550, registration ends October 28, 2025

This package includes registration for the in-person plus virtual content CARE-ICU Certification and the ICURehab Conference + Online Foundations.

For group discounts, email [email protected] with the name of your organization and the number of participants.

View course agenda (.pdf).

Register now

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants will be expected to:
  • Examine the evidence supporting discipline-specific early rehabilitation for critically ill patients.
  • Identify and apply ICU-specific rehabilitation strategies tailored to each discipline.
  • Develop effective approaches to engage patients and families in promoting activity and mobility.
  • Analyze the impact of medical diagnoses on patient functional presentation and recovery.
  • Demonstrate competency in implementing rehabilitation strategies.
  • Identify and implement targeted rehabilitation strategies to prevent or manage delirium.

Agenda

Virtual Content -  anticipated to be approved for 1.6 CEUs

We recommend completing the virtual content before attending the in-person portion of the course in November.

  • Foundations: 8 contact hours
    • 4 hours of core content (PT, OT and SLP)
    • 4 hours of discipline-specific content
  • Advanced: 8 contact hours
    • 4 hours of core content (PT, OT and SLP)
    • 4 hours of discipline-specific content

In-Person -  anticipated to be approved for 1.4 CEUs

  • Combination of lecture and lab
  • Discipline-specific competency completed for certification
  • Two days of hands-on training with a focus on:
    •  Physical therapy
      •  Functional mobility of complex patients in the ICU
      • Management of complex ICU cases
    • Occupational therapy
      • Occupation-based evaluation and treatment in the ICU
      • Functional mobility of complex patients in the ICU
      • Cognition
      • Splinting
      • Neuromuscular re-education
      • Management of complex ICU cases
    • Speech language pathology
      • Speaking Valve evaluation and treatment
      • In-Line Speaking Valve evaluation and treatment
      • Management of complex ICU dysphagia cases
      • Strategies for harmonization of FEES practice at your institution
View course agenda (.pdf)

More About the Course

Faculty

Dale Needham, M.D.

Dr. Needham is a professor at Johns Hopkins University in pulmonary and critical care medicine and physical medicine and rehabilitation. He directs the OACIS research group and serves as a medical ICU attending and critical care rehabilitation medical director. With 440+ publications and NIH-funded projects, his research focuses on improving long-term outcomes for ICU patients, focusing on sedation, delirium, early rehabilitation and quality improvement.

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Dale M. Needham, M.D., Ph.D.

Nicole Langton-Frost, M.A. CCC-SLP, BCS-S

Nicole Langton-Frost is an acute care rehabilitation therapy manager at Johns Hopkins Hospital, specializing in early rehabilitation, interdisciplinary ICU care and dysphagia management. She has authored publications and helped develop innovative care models, enhancing patient outcomes and hospital efficiency. Board-certified in swallowing disorders, Nicole is an adjunct professor, mentors clinical fellows and therapists and presents her work nationally and internationally.

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Kelly Casey, OTD, OTR/L, BCPR, ATP, CPAM

Kelly Casey is an acute care rehabilitation therapy manager at Johns Hopkins Hospital with over 20 years of ICU and acute care experience. She founded the Johns Hopkins OT Acute Care Fellowship and is AOTA Board Certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation. She leads research on cognition in acute care and presents nationally and internationally.

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Sowmya Kumble, PT, MPT, NCS

Sowmya Kumble is a physical therapist with 23+ years of experience, specializing in acute and critical care rehabilitation. She is a clinical resource analyst at Johns Hopkins, assistant professor and program director for the Johns Hopkins Rehabilitation Network and the University of Delaware Neurologic PT Residency. Her work emphasizes early mobility, interdisciplinary collaboration and evidence-based practice.

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Dana Kilonsky, CCC-SLP

Dana Kilonsky is a speech-language pathologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital with 11 years of acute care experience, specializing in surgical and ICU populations. She is passionate about education and mentorship, focusing on tracheostomy and ventilator management as it relates to communication. Additionally, she directs the clinical fellowship program and coordinates graduate student training in speech-language pathology.

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Alexandra Hayman, PT, DPT

Alexandra Hayman currently works as a clinical specialist for the acute care therapy department and is the lead physical therapist in the medical intensive care unit. Dr. Hayman is passionate about early rehabilitation of critically ill patients and using a multidisciplinary approach to promote patient mobility to prevent ICU-acquired weakness and hospital-associated deconditioning.

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Marybeth Moscirella, OTR/L, BCPR

Marybeth Moscirella is an acute care occupational therapist at Johns Hopkins Hospital with over five years of experience treating critically ill patients, including patients on mechanical circulatory support. She leads quality improvement initiatives to enhance ICU OT services and outcomes and is a primary mentor and preceptor for advanced ICU topics in the AOTA Acute Care OT Fellowship.

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