Advanced Surgical Critical Care for Patients after Heart Surgery
On the fourth floor of the Frankel Cardiovascular Center there is a 24-bed Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) providing care to critically ill adult cardiovascular and thoracic patients. The care of the patients in the ICU is multidisciplinary with responsibility for clinical care shared between the surgeons and the critical care intensivists.
The unit is staffed 24 hours a day with critical care intensivists, and an advance practice team of Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Physician Assistants (PAs). This ICU provides the highest level of care for our patients and their families. Unique services include cardiopulmonary support devices including temporary and permanent VADs, total artificial heart systems, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), providing a form of life support for patients with severe and abrupt heart and/or lung failure. Our 36-bed telemetry step down unit is also staffed 24 hours a day by our advance practice team and highly skilled nurses.