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After nine months of construction, BWH this week opened its brand new Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) to patients. The new and expanded MICU on Tower 3 has 20 beds, twice as many as its former location on 9C. The new setting better accommodates and serves its critically ill patient population.
“What a difference this makes for our patients,” said MICU Director Craig Lilly, MD, noting that the MICU will receive more than 1,200 admissions in the coming year.
The new unit better accommodates patient volume, while centralizing MICU patients in one area with a consistent care model.
“This new unit really provides continuity of care for medicine and nursing,” said MICU Nurse Manager Maureen Curley, RN, who was directly involved in the project from start to finish. “Tower 3BC enables us to give our patients the best care possible.”
Curley hired 40 additional nurses to staff the unit and lined up experienced MICU staff to serve as clinical colleagues to orient the new recruits.
“MICU patients are best served by teams of providers who work together and train together,” said Lilly, congratulating the unit's staff for their commitment to their patients, mirrored in part by the unit's high patient satisfaction scores.
In addition to offering an efficient patient care environment and expanded support services to help families through what can be a trying time, the unit also features space to support the expanded MICU staff. The unit includes a private space ideal for mentoring and informal education for doctors and residents as well as generous space for structured group education.
BWH celebrated the completion of the MICU with an open house last Friday, including a ribbon-cutting ceremony with MICU staff, Chief Nursing Officer Nancy Kruger, Chief Medical Officer Andy Whittemore and Project Manager Joe O'Leary.