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INFORMATION FOR

    Rachel Beekman, MD

    Assistant Professor
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    Additional Titles

    Director, Neurocritical Care Fellowship Program, Neurology

    About

    Titles

    Assistant Professor

    Director, Neurocritical Care Fellowship Program, Neurology

    Biography

    Rachel Beekman began her medical training in her home state of New York at Stony Brook University School of Medicine but has since relocated to New Haven, where she completed her neurology residency and neurocritical care fellowship at Yale New Haven Hospital. Rachel is the first Yale alumni to continue as faculty in the department of neurocritical care. Rachel has a passion for treating survivors of cardiac arrest and is building a multi-disciplinary cardiac arrest program. In her spare time Rachel loves being mom to her two young boys and spending family time at all the beautiful Connecticut parks.

    Appointments

    Other Departments & Organizations

    Education & Training

    MD
    Stony Brook School of Medicine (2014)

    Research

    Overview

    1. I am the site PI for the Influence of Cooling Duration on Efficacy in Cardiac Arrest Patients (ICECAP) trial, aimed at identifying the optimal duration of cooling to 33C in cardiac arrest patients.

    2. I am the site PI for the Multimodal Outcome CHAracterization after cardiac arrest (MOCHA) study, a multi-site prospective observational trial aimed at improving multimodal prognostication in cardiac arrest survivors.

    3. I am the PI on an investigator-initiated proposal to evaluate cerebral pressure autoregulation and individualized blood pressure goals after cardiac arrest, using near infrared spectroscopy.

    4. I am the PI on an industry sponsored pilot grant to evaluate synaptic density in survivors of cardiac arrest, using SV2A PET.

    Medical Research Interests

    Brain Death; Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest; Post-Cardiac Arrest Syndrome

    Research at a Glance

    Yale Co-Authors

    Frequent collaborators of Rachel Beekman's published research.

    Publications

    2024

    2023

    Clinical Trials

    Current Trials

    Clinical Care

    Overview

    Rachel Beekman, MD, is a neurologist who specializes in taking care of patients in the Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Yale New Haven Hospital and says the relationships she forms with patients’ families is the best part of her job.

    “In medical school, I thought I wanted to do outpatient work because I love the idea of continuity of care, but I kept getting drawn to the ICU. “In the ICU, I am able to build meaningful relationships with patients and their families and provide support during one of the most challenging times in their lives,” she says. “Guiding family members to understand the road ahead and provide them with the tools to make the best decision for their loved one is so rewarding.”

    Dr. Beekman says she takes cues from family members when it comes to figuring out what kind of support and information they need when a loved one is in the NICU. “Some people need an approach where you guide them along the way; others want an opportunity to talk about their loved one,” she says. “I always welcome that, especially because it gives me insight into the patient and what’s important them.”

    Dr. Beekman treats a variety of neurological cases including ischemic stroke with brain swelling, hemorrhagic stroke, brain tumors, traumatic brain injury, and epilepsy.

    “Not all academic medical centers have a neuroscience ICU, but we have a large group with 10 dedicated neurointensivists. Having the expertise of neurointensivist is important because our monitoring capabilities continue to improve and we have better ways to identify and prevent secondary brain injury,” she says.

    Her research interests include cardiac arrest and developing precision medicine tools to personalize the care of brain injured patients.

    Clinical Specialties

    Brain Injury; Neurocritical Care

    Board Certifications

    • Neurocritical Care

      Certification Organization
      AB of Psychiatry & Neurology
      Original Certification Date
      2021
    • Neurology

      Certification Organization
      AB of Psychiatry & Neurology
      Original Certification Date
      2018

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