During the 2026 Society of Critical Care Medicine Congress, thousands of healthcare professionals gathered to advance patient care and recognize the experts leading the way 鈥� including 麻豆原创 Nursing Associate Professor Brian Peach.

Peach was the only nursing expert in Florida inducted into this year鈥檚 class of fellows of the American College of Critical Care Medicine, a prestigious distinction recognizing healthcare leaders who鈥檝e made outstanding contributions to critical care through clinical excellence, program development and scholarly activities.

Improving Patient Outcomes

Peach has dedicated nearly two decades to improving critical care 鈥� from the patient bedside as an intensive care unit (ICU) nurse and leader to advancing the field as an educator and researcher.

“… the best patient care and research outcomes are achieved through interdisciplinary teamwork.”

His clinical career spanned three teaching facilities 鈥� the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, University of Florida Health Shands Hospital and Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center 鈥� where he advanced into leadership roles and collaborated across disciplines to improve patient outcomes and drive quality initiatives, including improving time-sensitive sepsis care to save lives.

鈥淚 firmly believe that the best patient care and research outcomes are achieved through interdisciplinary teamwork, where each professional鈥檚 expertise enhances the collective effort,鈥� Peach says. 鈥淢y experiences have reinforced my commitment to fostering collaborations that drive meaningful improvements in healthcare.鈥�

Advancing Education and Science

While his clinical work laid the foundation, Peach recognized a broader purpose: preparing future nurses and advancing the science behind critical care.

At 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Nursing, he鈥檚 led a critical care course that emphasizes essential concepts through case-based learning that prepare future nurses for real-world practice. He also serves as the college鈥檚 Honors Undergraduate Thesis liaison, advising nearly 25 undergraduate and graduate students in independent research in the field.

Nationally, Peach extends his impact through leadership and service. He’s served as a reviewer for multiple critical care publications and collaborates with experts on projects like the next tier of the Society of Critical Care Medicine鈥檚 Centers of Excellence program, which will recognize hospitals for excellence in ICU care.

His award-winning research, shared globally through publications and presentations, focuses on improving outcomes for septic patients and, more recently, advancing care for ICU delirium and post-intensive care syndrome (PICS).

Advocating for Intensive Care Survivors

PICS 鈥� a syndrome involving new or worsened physical, cognitive and mental health impairments following an ICU admission 鈥� affects a significant portion of survivors. Of the more than 5.7 million Americans admitted to ICUs each year, about 70% survive, and it鈥檚 estimated that more than half experience lasting impairments.

Peach has become an advocate for critical illness survivors, dedicated to raising awareness and improving care. He currently leads a virtual reality exposure therapy trial for the treatment of PICS in critical illness survivors and frequently speaks on the topic at conferences, healthcare facilities and to the media.

鈥淗elping shed light on the hidden burden carried by ICU survivors 鈥� and the gap between survival and true recovery 鈥� motivates my work,鈥� he says.

As a member of the PICS Advocacy Network, he was inspired to co-found Orlando鈥檚 Walk-4-PICS campaign in 2024. It鈥檚 now one of the largest events in a global effort to raise awareness and connect survivors and their families with resources and research opportunities.

“… by allowing researchers to track data nationwide, [the diagnostic code] could help make the case that PICS research warrants greater investment.”

Earlier this month, Peach presented a proposal to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advocating for a PICS ICD-10 diagnostic code. If approved, the code would allow providers to formally diagnose PICS and enable researchers to track its prevalence. A decision is expected by Summer 2026.

鈥淭his code has the potential to dramatically influence health policy and research funding,鈥� Peach says. 鈥淢illions of people across the U.S. suffering from PICS conditions will officially be able to receive a diagnosis. Furthermore, by allowing researchers to track data nationwide, it could help make the case that PICS research warrants greater investment.鈥�

For Peach, it鈥檚 the people behind the statistics that inspire his work. It鈥檚 the personal stories of the ICU survivors he meets, the achievements of the students he mentors and the thought leaders he collaborates with to create change.

鈥淚 look forward to [continuing] to advance critical care through collaboration and mentorship,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd to improving care for patients, survivors and their families.鈥�

If you’re a critical illness survivor living with new or worsened physical, cognitive or mental health conditions, you may qualify for one of Peach鈥檚 studies.

Name: Brian Peach
Position(s): Associate professor of nursing; Honors Undergraduate Thesis Program director in the College of Nursing; Co-advisor to the Student Nurses Association, Orlando

Why are you interested in this research?
My interest in this research is rooted in nearly 20 years of nursing practice, most of it spent caring for critically ill patients in intensive care units. I worked alongside dedicated multidisciplinary clinicians to save lives, and I took pride in seeing patients survive conditions such as sepsis, respiratory failure, heart failure and gastrointestinal bleeds.

Are you a faculty member or student conducting research at 麻豆原创? We want to hear from you!聽

I assumed that once they left the ICU, they would recover, reclaim their lives and enjoy the years we had helped them gain. During my doctoral program however, I learned something that fundamentally shifted my perspective. Survivors were not simply recovering 鈥� they were facing new or worsened long-term physical, cognitive and mental health challenges that persisted months or even years after discharge.

These chronic issues, collectively known as post鈥慽ntensive care syndrome (PICS), included something I found especially troubling: post鈥憈raumatic stress disorder stemming from the ICU experience itself. This realization was unsettling.

As clinicians, we often celebrate when a patient survives and moves on to the next unit or facility. Once they leave our care, they tend to slip out of sight and out of mind. Yet if you asked any ICU clinician what they hope for their patients, none would say they want survivors to live with debilitating long鈥憈erm consequences. We want them to thrive.

Recognizing the hidden burden carried by ICU survivors 鈥� and the gap between survival and true recovery 鈥� motivates my work. I am committed to advancing research that acknowledges, prevents, and treats PICS conditions, with particular focus on PTSD. My goal is to ensure that surviving critical illness is not the end of the story. While many critical illness survivors may never return to their prior level of health, I hope we can effectively treat their PTSD and remove a major barrier to living a fulfilling post鈥慖CU life.

Who inspires you to conduct your research?
The critical illness survivors and their families motivate me to conduct this research. Through my research, I鈥檝e heard their stories, and admittedly they trouble me. Their experiences remind me that survival is only the first step; what happens after the ICU matters just as much. I want survivors to have the chance at a meaningful, high鈥憅uality life, and I want families to feel supported rather than blindsided by the long鈥憈erm effects of critical illness.

Part of my motivation is personal as well. I know that my own loved ones could one day find themselves in an ICU, and if they were to leave with PICS鈥憆elated challenges, I would want them to have access to timely, effective care.

This research has also opened doors to service opportunities that continually reinforce my commitment. Through the PICS Advocacy Network, the Society of Critical Care Medicine, and the American Psychological Association, I鈥檝e met survivors, caregivers, clinicians, and researchers who are working tirelessly to improve post鈥慖CU outcomes.

Two years ago, I co鈥慺ounded Walk鈥�4鈥慞ICS Orlando with a survivor and the spouse of a survivor. What began with a handful of determined individuals holding small walks in 2023 to raise awareness about PICS has grown into a global movement 鈥� now 20 walks across four countries with increasing numbers of attendees. Each year, our walk brings together survivors, families, clinicians, and community members, and I leave every event more inspired than when I arrived.

For the past two years, I鈥檝e worn a Walk鈥�4鈥慞ICS bracelet every single day. It鈥檚 a simple reminder of my 鈥渨hy鈥�: the belief that we can do better for those whose lives have been devastated by critical illness.

How does 麻豆原创 empower you to do your research?
麻豆原创 has empowered my research since my arrival in 2018. The College of Nursing has consistently supported my work with critical illness survivors by providing the facilities, staff assistance, and encouragement needed to pursue both intramural and extramural funding. This particular project was made possible through intramural support from the School of Social Work鈥檚 Center for Behavioral Research and Training, which allowed the study to take shape and move forward.

Through the university, I met my collaborator, Pegasus Professor Deborah Beidel. Our therapy study has been conducted at the 麻豆原创 RESTORES Clinic, where she serves as executive director. The RESTORES team has been enthusiastic, skilled and deeply committed to adapting and testing their therapy for critical illness survivors. Their partnership has elevated the quality and reach of this work.

Students from the College of Nursing and other programs have played an important role as well, assisting with data collection and analysis and bringing fresh perspectives to the research. Their involvement has strengthened the project and given me the opportunity to train the next generation of clinicians and PICS researchers.

What major grants and honors have you earned to support your research?
I have received funding from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, Sigma Theta Tau International, and 麻豆原创鈥檚 Center for Behavioral Research and Training, each of which has supported different phases of my work with critical illness survivors. These awards have helped advance my research program and build the foundation for larger studies. I am now pursuing funding from the National Institutes of Health to further expand my work and strengthen its impact on post鈥慖CU care.

Why is this research important?
This research matters because the consequences of critical illness extend far beyond the ICU. More than half of the 5.7 million Americans admitted to an ICU each year develop at least one post鈥慽ntensive care syndrome (PICS) condition within the first year after discharge, and roughly 20% experience clinically significant PTSD symptoms within six months. These psychological injuries can disrupt survivors鈥� ability to work, care for their families, and maintain relationships, while placing substantial emotional and practical burdens on caregivers.

When survival comes with a cost of long鈥憈erm suffering, we have an obligation to find ways to treat PICS-related conditions. Identifying effective ways to treat PICS conditions 鈥� especially PTSD聽 鈥攃an help survivors regain stability, restore a sense of normalcy and reengage fully in their communities. And this isn鈥檛 an abstract issue. Any one of us, or someone we love, could find ourselves in an ICU because of an infection, an accident, or an unexpected medical crisis. Improving care for ICU survivors is not only a clinical priority; it is a societal responsibility.

At 麻豆原创, researchers are working to better understand PTSD, its effects and ways to treat it. Here is a roundup of just some of that work.

Expanding Peer Support and Innovative Treatment

is a leading nonprofit clinical research center and trauma treatment clinic that uses a dynamic approach to PTSD treatment. By combining exposure therapy using emerging technology like virtual reality, and individual and group therapy sessions, 76% of first responders no longer meeting the diagnostic criteria for PTSD following three weeks of intensive treatment.

麻豆原创 RESTORES is expanding its nationally recognized peer support and suicide prevention training 鈥� called REACT 鈥� for first responders across Central Florida. With a $1.4 million First Responder Regional Support Grant from the Florida Department of Children and Families, 麻豆原创 RESTORES will train over 300 first responders on mental health and suicide prevention, develop and train a network of clinicians in how to best support first responders, and hold summits with first responder agencies to collaboratively develop behavioral health services for first responders and their families.

Researchers have expanded REACT to support hospital nurses, thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Pabst Steinmetz Foundation Arts and Wellness Innovation Award. An interdisciplinary team of researchers will train nurses to create autobiographical comics about their experiences, adapt REACT workshop materials for acute care nurses and their autobiographical comics scenarios, and use the comics in cultural competency training for mental health specialists who assist nurses.

Virtual Reality for Healing

Research out of 麻豆原创 is studying how exposure therapy, with the use of virtual reality, can help patients of intensive-care experiences overcome PTSD, which many survivors of intensive-care hospital stays often develop. Led by Assistant Professor Brian Peach in 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Nursing, the research will examine how exposure therapy that features virtual reality with real sounds and smells from the patients鈥� intensive-care experience can help patients reprocess their traumatic experience in the presence of a therapist. This method 鈥� exposure therapy using virtual reality 鈥� is used by 麻豆原创 RESTORES and has proven to be highly successful in treating first responders, military personnel and veterans. Recruitment for this research is ongoing.

Help for the Helpers

Uzbekistan native and mental health counselor, Gulnora Hundley 鈥�04MA 鈥�08PhD, an associate lecturer in the Department of Counselor Education and School Psychology, provides free group therapy sessions to mental health professionals treating those impacted by the Ukraine-Russia conflict. More than 170 participants have tuned in virtually from Poland, Ukraine and other places nearby since she started offering the service in March 2022. Hundley is helping mental health professionals because they need their own safe space, too, with resources for coping and processing trauma. Hundley says participants have talked about grief, loss and being separated from loved ones 鈥� some of whom have husbands fighting in the conflict, and some who know those who have been killed. Hundley uses a psychotherapy treatment called EMDR Group Traumatic Episode Protocol to help participants alleviate stress associated with their traumatic memories.

Dogs and Their Healing Power for Veterans

After a 21-year career as a clinical social worker and mental health officer in the U.S. Air Force, Associate Professor of Social Work James Whitworth now works to understand the efficacy of dog therapy programs for veterans. Veterans can face a multitude of mental health challenges, from depression and anxiety, to PTSD, traumatic brain injury or sexual trauma, and training therapy dogs 鈥� through his research 鈥� has been found to improve these symptoms, as well as hypervigilance, stress and anger. Whitworth鈥檚 research is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Defense, and he鈥檚 evaluated similar programs for the Florida Department of Veterans. One of his current studies identifies and examines the matching strategies used to pair veterans with the best service dog that suits their needs. By understanding the value of service dogs and related programs, he aspires to build better support for veterans.

A Silver Lining

While much research seeks to understand the negative side effects of traumatic events, such as PTSD, highly stressful events also can lead to positive psychological changes. That鈥檚 what Associate Professor of Counselor Education Melissa Zeligman studies. Posttraumatic growth, or PTG, is the phenomenon where survivors of highly stressful and traumatic events gain a greater appreciation for life, build stronger relationships with their loved ones or higher power, or recognize new strengths within themselves after such events. Zeligman researches ways to facilitate PTG in clients, such as hope, optimism, gratitude, meaning making, connecting with social support groups and spirituality and religion, as applicable to the client. Zeligman also conducts research out of the , examining how clients鈥� adverse childhood experiences impact their growth throughout counseling. The Community Counseling and Research Center provides services to the public.