Dr. Kristina Kypuros Almeda, MD

Pediatric Intensivist Kristina Kypuros, MD, FAAP was profoundly impacted by all of the pediatricians she met throughout her life, including the one who treated her as a child. “I just loved waiting to see her. She was so gentle, so kind and she always made me feel better—even if the treatment was just taking Tylenol,” Dr. Kypuros remembers fondly.

Even though Dr. Kypuros’ mother had wanted her to become a teacher, the self-professed Type A personality was drawn to medicine at a young age. “In my younger days, I naturally just wanted to help. As I get older and strive to achieve my spiritual focus, working in the ICU with the sickest babies and children and doing mission work has provided a seamless stepping-stone. My passion for pediatrics and my spirituality drive me to become better. Some people think that it’s a big sacrifice, but it’s really very fulfilling,” says Dr. Kypuros.

In addition to missions to Mongolia and Kurdistan as part of the team screening and …treating patients with congenital and rheumatic heart disease, Dr. Kypuros is working with the Rotary Club in El Paso and with the secretary of health in Chihuahua, Mexico to address the lack not only of cardiac pediatric critical care expertise but also of basic life-saving techniques in border states.

Dr. Kypuros graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Texas at San Antonio and received her medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas.

After completing her medical residency at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) where Dr. Kypuros first met most of the team she now works with, she moved to Los Angeles and worked in both pediatric inpatient and outpatient settings for two years.

Dr. Kypuros returned to San Antonio to complete her three-year fellowship in pediatric critical care medicine at UTHSCSA. She then moved to El Paso, Texas where she had the honor of working with other UTHSCSA-trained colleagues and Dr. Bradley Fuhrman, a pioneer of pediatric critical care medicine who literally wrote the book (the 1740-page textbook appropriately entitled “Pediatric Critical Care Medicine”) on this subspecialty and who also holds or shares patents on many of the devices used in the field.

Dr. Kypuros is board certified in pediatrics and is the newest member of the Children’s Critical Care Specialists pediatric intensivist team at Methodist Children’s Hospital. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Society of Critical Care Medicine and For Hearts and Souls.