Saint Joseph's Hospital issued the following announcement on Feb. 17.
Clinical nurse educator explains what you should know when a loved one is in our CCU/CVICU unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital
Anyone can develop heart disease, which refers to several types of heart conditions. If any of these conditions require surgery and lands you or a loved one in the hospital, it can be a stressful and confusing time. At St. Joseph’s/Candler, we have a dedicated unit and trained team of nurses and physicians to help you through the process.
Called the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) and Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU), this 16-bed unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital is staffed with nurses and co-workers trained to care for patients following surgery or treatment of conditions of the heart and vascular system, explains Tanya Coggins, CCU/CVICU clinical nurse educator.
The floor is considered a critical care unit and nurses can take care of any critically ill patient that requires extra monitoring and frequent assessments, Coggins adds.
“This dedicated space allows for the patient to know they are being treated by a nurse specializing in cardiac care, and we care for similar patients like themselves,” Coggins says. “Open heart surgery patients often greet each other in the hallway during ambulation and encourage each other in their recovery.”
Certain heart conditions can lead to the need for surgery that may require a stay on CCU/CVICU. These conditions may include:
- Irregular heart beat
- Post cardiac arrest
- Heart attack
- Unstable angina
- Heart failure
- Valve disorders
- Cardiogenic shock
- Open heart surgery
- Coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG)
- Valve repair or replacement
- Cardiac catheterization
- Coronary stent
The step-down units are designed for patients who are not as critically ill and those that are more mobile, but still allows them to be monitored by critical care nurses and physicians, Coggins explains.
“Our nurses are able to encourage patients to be more independent and mobile on the unit until the physician has cleared them for discharge.”
“What truly makes St. Joseph’s/Candler different from other facilities is our staff,” Coggins says. “Things can change minute by minute based on your patient’s condition. We all come with different backgrounds and have a wide base of knowledge that we bring to the table. The co-workers on our unit are very supportive of one another which is crucial in a high-stressed environment.”
Visitation policy and open communication
At the moment, visitation restrictions are limited due to the volume of COVID-19 and flu cases in our community. When we return to normal visiting hours, CCU/CVICU visitation is open from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and then 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Quiet time is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. to allow patients to rest.
Additionally, only two visitors are allowed at the bedside at one time, Coggins says. “Some patients receive a lot of support from mechanical devices and if an emergent situation were to occur, our team needs to be able to respond immediately.”
We know that visiting a loved one in the hospital not only limits your stress, but it also can reduce anxiety and stress on the patient, Coggins says. However, our traditional visitation policy is in place to be centered on care of the patient.
“We need to focus on what is best for the patient’s physical health, mental wellness, rest and recovery.”
To help keep the lines of communication open – especially with very limited visitors allowed during the COVID pandemic – CCU/CVICU encourages each patient or family to designate one spokesperson so that information can be relayed to that person, and then he or she can share and pass along any information to those that the patient wants to be informed.
“When someone is critically ill, communication is vitally important,” Coggins says. “So by designating one spokesperson, it allows nurses and physicians to focus on the care of the patient by decreasing phone calls and repeating information, but still keeping the family informed.”
Learn about other areas of our hospital:
- What to expect during an ICU stay
- What to expect during a PCU stay
- What to expect in the Neurological Intensive Care Unit
- What to expect if my baby has to stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
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