Robert Whitford, MD is a board-certified physician with The Christ Hospital Physicians Heart & Vascular, specializing in critical care and emergency medicine at The Christ Hospital in Mt. Auburn.
Dr. Whitford has extensive experience caring for critically ill patients across diverse settings, including the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU), emergency departments, as an Air Care flight physician, and as a SWAT team physician during field operations. His approach to care is guided by his belief that in the most critical moments, rapid diagnosis and decisive treatment are essential. He often begins by considering the most serious possibilities first and then works backward to ensure that no time is lost when lives are on the line.
While his role is to identify and treat disease, Dr. Whitford also emphasizes prevention. He encourages patients to reduce their risk through healthy habits such as eating well, exercising, and prioritizing sleep, reminding them, “No pill will ever beat that.”
Dr. Whitford earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from The University of Texas at Austin and his Doctor of Medicine from The University of Texas Medical School in Houston. He completed his residency in emergency medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, followed by a fellowship in anesthesiology critical care medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
He is board certified in both anesthesiology critical care medicine and emergency medicine by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Additionally, he was the first emergency medicine physician to achieve dual certification in both transesophageal echocardiography and critical care echocardiography by the National Board of Echocardiography. Dr. Whitford is an active member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the Society of Critical Care Anesthesiology, the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine.
Outside of medicine, Dr. Whitford is a devoted husband and father. He enjoys spending time with his family and has a passion for the outdoors, especially rock climbing, hiking, and camping.Publications
Whitford RC. Demystifying Volume Management in the ED with this Simple AI Echo Tool: You Don’t have to be an Echo Nerd to Do it!. Common Sense, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, September/October 2024, Volume 31, Issue 5, Pages 25-26. https://issuu.com/aaeminfo/docs/cs24_septoct-vfinal
Kelesis, Maritza, Huecker, M, Whitford, RC. A Change of Pace: Modifying Pacemaker Settings in the Emergency Department as Emergency Physicians, A Case Report. Journal of Emergency Medicine, Volume 0, Issue 0, 2024. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39986943/
Baronos S, Whitford RC, Adkins K. Postoperative care after left ventricular assist device implantation: considerations for the cardiac surgical intensivist. Indian J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2023 Jul;39(Suppl 1):182-189. doi: 10.1007/s12055-022-01434-y. Epub 2022 Dec 16. PMID: 37525704; PMCID: PMC10386988. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37525704/
Whitford RC, Liebman J, Baez J. Bougie-Facilitated Tamponade Balloon Placement for Massive Esophagogastric Variceal Hemorrhage: A Case Series and Novel Procedural Technique Description. J Emerg Med. 2023 Mar;64(3):338-344. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2022.12.019. Epub 2023 Mar 1. PMID: 36868943. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36868943/
Hooker EA, Faulkner WJ, Kelly LD, Whitford RC. Prospective study of the sensitivity of the Wood's lamp for common eye abnormalities. Emerg Med J. 2019 Mar;36(3):159-162. doi: 10.1136/emermed-2018-208235. Epub 2019 Jan 10. PMID: 30630841. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30630841/
Whitford R, Continenza S, Liebman J, Peng J, Powell EK, Tilney PV. Out-of-Hospital Lateral Canthotomy and Cantholysis: A Case Series and Screening Tool for Identification of Orbital Compartment Syndrome, Air Medical Journal, Volume 37, Issue 1, 2018, Pages 7-11,ISSN 1067-991X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amj.2017.11.002. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29332783/
Whitford RC. Balloon Tamponade of Variceal Hemorrhage. November 2018, UC EM Residency Website Publication (TamingtheSRU.com) https://www.tamingthesru.com/blog/air-care-series/balloon-tamponade-of-variceal-hemorrhage