“I want to use my previous background in research and in the cardiovascular field, to develop new medical skills and take care of the sickest of the sick. That is my most important role.”
Dr. Romel Jose Garcia-Montilla specializes in
critical care medicine. He provides medical
treatment to the care of patients with
acute, life-threatening or potentially
life-threatening surgical conditions.
A native of Maracaibo City, Venezuela, Dr.
Garcia brings an extensive background
in internal medicine, clinical cardiology,
interventional cardiology and research,
including a Ph.D. in cardiac ultrasound.
Dr. Garcia had been a hospitalist here for
five years when he decided to pursue a
fellowship in critical care medicine at Oregon
Health and Science University in Portland.
“One of the cornerstones of critical care medicine is the use of bedside ultrasonography.” This emergency ultrasound helps guide resuscitation and monitor critically ill patients. It also gives procedural guidance to improve safety and confirm clinical diagnosis.
Dr. Garcia hopes to take this tool to the next level through a quality improvement project that will update all ultrasound machines to the latest generation and increase use of this novel and non-invasive technology in daily care of critically sick patients in the surgical intensive care unit. He is working with Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation on this initiative.
Dr. Garcia and his wife, Argelia, who was a fully trained internist in Venezuela, have three school-age daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys reading historical works, especially related to medicine, helping his medical students, walking outdoors and attending his daughters’ school activities.