The beginning of April marked the opening of BWH’s new Thoracic Intensive Care Unit. With amenities ranging from decentralized nursing stations to modern boom technology, the new unit provides the care of the highest quality to thoracic surgery patients.
“The opening of the new ICU is going to benefit our patients immensely, and will serve as a model for thoracic departments in hospitals across the country,” said Steven J. Mentzer, MD, medical director, 11C.
Adds David Sugarbaker, MD, chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery, “The opening of 11C makes BWH the only hospital in the country to have a separate ICU solely dedicated to the care of noncardiac thoracic surgery patients.”
In addition to the advanced design and technology that will benefit patients, 11C offers many benefits to staff. Boom technology anchored from the ceiling ensures that all electrical devices and medical gases are completely mobile and off of the floor, freeing up space for clinicians to tend to the patient more effectively. In addition, the decentralized nursing stations located immediately outside each patient room efficiently combine work and patient monitoring areas for nurses.
According to John Fernandez, vice president, Surgical Services, 11C is currently staffed for five ICU beds and is scheduled to be operating at full capacity once more nurses arrive on staff.