EXPANDED CARDIOTHORACIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT OPENS AT THE HEART INSTITUTE TO ACCOMMODATE MORE PATIENTS
Number of Patients Having Heart Surgery at Stony Brook Continues to Rise
STONY BROOK, NY, October 6, 2014 — The new 15-bed cardiothoracic intensive care unit (CTICU) at Stony Brook University Heart Institute was unveiled today at Stony Brook Medicine.
The CTICU provides care for patients immediately after cardiac surgery, which consists of one-on-one care from highly skilled nurses and a highly trained healthcare team of doctors, physician assistants, respiratory therapists, and physical therapists until patients are ready to progress to an intermediate care unit.
| From left, Mary Ann Donohue-Ryan, PhD, RN, Chief, Patient Care Services; Javed Butler, MD, Co-Director, Heart Institute; L. Reuven Pasternak, MD, CEO, University Hospital, and Vice President for Health Systems, Stony Brook Medicine; Carol Gomes, MS, Chief Operating Officer; Susan Cunneen, RN, Nurse Manager, CTICU; Kathy Sheriff, RN, Assistant Director, Nursing; Margaret Duffy, MS, RN, Associate Director, Nursing; James R. Taylor Jr., MD, Co-Director, Heart Institute; Joseph H. Laver, MD, Chief Medical Officer; and Harold A. Fernandez, MD, Co-Director, Heart Institute. |
Between 2012 and 2013, the volume of patients receiving cardiothoracic surgery at the Heart Institute grew from 425 to 600, and the numbers continue to rise.
During the ceremony, L. Reuven Pasternak, MD, CEO of Stony Brook University Hospital and vice president for Health Systems at Stony Brook Medicine, applauded the CTICU team, led by co-directors of the Heart Institute James R. Taylor Jr., MD, professor of surgery and chief of cardiothoracic surgery, and Harold A. Fernandez, MD, professor of surgery and deputy chief of cardiothoracic surgery, for their tremendous strides in providing the quality care and service to patients at the Heart Institute that was instrumental in the creation of this new unit.
"Today's event marks another important step along the way, in our journey toward creating a patient-centered culture of excellence," said Dr. Pasternak.
The expanded CTICU allows for a spacious environment where caregivers can provide the high-quality care patients have come to expect from Stony Brook, including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, Impella, continuous veno-venous hemofilatration dialysis, intra-aortic balloon pump, ventilator support, nitric oxide support, and ventricular assist devices.
The CTICU was honored last year with the Beacon Award of Excellence by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses which recognized the unit for meeting the highest standards of excellence in critical care. Stony Brook is one of only eight hospitals in New York State that have units with the Beacon designation (read more).
