August 21, 2023 – Three new critical care physicians have joined Decatur Memorial Hospital’s Specialty Care team.
Critical care physicians have expertise in caring for patients with life-threatening illnesses and injuries and typically work in an intensive care unit (ICU). These physicians typically work in an ICU and aim to stabilize their patients’ conditions, prevent further complications and promote recovery. Dr. Patrick Sylvester, Dr. Bharat Raju and Dr. Kewan Hamid are the newest critical care doctors to join Decatur Memorial’s care team.
Sylvester is a pulmonary critical care and emergency medicine physician. He completed his undergraduate education in Central Illinois, at the University of Illinois, and graduated summa cum laude from The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Sylvester noted that he felt welcomed to Decatur even before accepting the position.
“When I was in the process of finding a position in Central Illinois, I was stuck by how honest and straightforward everyone was and how welcoming they were when I came to visit,” Dr. Sylvester said in a press release. “I felt like this was going to be a great fit for myself and my family.”
Raju is a nephrology care physician who graduated with honors from the People’s Friendship University of Russia School of Medicine in Moscow. He served a residency in internal medicine at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, a fellowship in nephrology at Washington University in St. Louis, MO and a critical care fellowship at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York. He said he’s looking forward to providing excellent care to the ICU’s visitors.
“I want to reassure the patients and their families that the ICU is not a place to be scared of, but it is a place to receive the care you need at the time of a critical illness,” Dr. Raju said in a press release. “It’s where new journeys begin.”
Hamid, a pulmonology critical care physician, earned his medical degree from Hawler Medical University College of Medicine in Iraq and served a residency at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan. He also had fellowships in pulmonology and critical care at the University of South Alabama Hospital in Mobile, Alabama and St. Peters University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He said he’s excited to get to know his new patients.
