Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Unveils
State-of-the-Art Critical Cardiovascular Care Unit
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH)'s state-of-the-art Critical Cardiovascular Care Unit (CCV ICU) is now open to patients and families.
The new 21,000-square-foot unit includes 24 critical cardiac intensive care unit rooms, a comfortable waiting area, on-call rooms with support areas and separate nourishment areas for staff and family members.
Cutting the ribbon to formally introduce RWJUH's new Critical Cardiovascular Care Unit are from left to right: Stephern Allison, Vice President of Cardiovascular Services at RWJUH; Julie Arsenault, Assistant Vice President of Nursing, Cardiology and Intensive Care Services at RWJUH; Leonard Lee, Division Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and RWJUH; Billie Bellamy, Nursing Director, Cardiac Critical Care at RWJUH; Jack Morris, Chair, RWJBarnabas Health Board of Trustees and RWJUH Board of Directors; John J. Gantner, President and CEO, RWJUH.
"RWJUH is a recognized Cardiovascular Center of Excellence. This state-of-the-art unit enhances RJWUH's ability to provide world-class cardiac care to our cardiac surgery patients, TAVR patients, heart transplant patients and ventricular assist device patients, among others, in a warm, family-centered setting," said RWJUH President and Chief Executive Officer John J. Gantner.
"Our program has grown in quality and volume to the point where it is among the biggest and best on the Eastern Seaboard," adds Leonard Lee, MD, Division Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Chair of Department of Surgery and Professor of Surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "This unit is incredible, but it's important to note that every step we took in the planning process was focused on our patients, their family members and the entire healing process."
Unique features include:
- Patient rooms equipped with movable booms that contain all of the equipment needed to care for the patient such as gas, oxygen, and monitors, among other items.
- Capability to provide ECMO therapy through booms mounted at the foot of the bed. ECMO stands for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a temporary mechanical support system used to aid heart and lung function in patients with severe respiratory or cardiac failure. Developed as an offshoot of cardiopulmonary bypass and the membrane oxygen machine used to support those patients, ECMO can be used in patients of all ages (newborn to adult).
- Patient beds that are not placed against any room walls, giving health care providers 360-degree access to the patient at all times.
- Operating room lights in each patient room allowing clinicians to perform certain procedures in the room directly on the unit without having to transport the patient.
- An open design with spacious nursing stations laid out to encourage interaction and collaboration among all members of the health care team.
- Nursing stations at each patient room that give nurses clear visibility and sightlines into patient's room.
- Curved hallway walls giving staff better sightlines as they move around the unit.
"RWJUH regularly addresses the most complex cases and cares for severely critically ill patients," notes Stephern Allison, Vice President of Cardiovascular Services at RWJUH. "These patients and their family members often experience longer stays on the unit and we felt it was very important to take a patient-centered approach to planning the new space."
Patient and family-centered amenities include:
- All patient rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, which allow generous amounts of natural light to enter the room. The phototherapy can support the patient's mental well-being and facilitate the healing process.
- Private bathrooms for patients and family members in all rooms.
- Glass doors to patient rooms that can be transparent or made opaque at the flick of the switch to maintain privacy while eliminating the need for curtains and reducing the potential for dust and bacteria forming.
To learn more about RWJUH, please visit www.rwjbh.org/newbrunswick. For a referral to a physician affiliated with RWJUH, please call 1-888-724-7123. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/rwjuh and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RWJUH.
Contact:
Peter Haigney
RWJUH Public Relations
(732) 937-8568
About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), an RWJBarnabas Health Facility, is a 600-bed academic medical center that serves as the principal teaching hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neuroscience, orthopedics, bariatric surgery and women's and children's care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). A Level 1 Trauma Center and the first designated Pediatric Trauma Center in the state, RWJUH's New Brunswick campus serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.
RWJUH has been ranked among the best hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report seven times and has been selected by the publication as a high performing hospital in numerous specialties. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital has been ranked among the best hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report five times. In addition, RWJUH was named among the best places to work in health care by Modern Healthcare magazine and received the Equity Care of Award as Top Hospital for Healthcare Diversity and Inclusion from the American Hospital Association. RWJUH has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety, including the prestigious Magnet® Award for Nursing Excellence and "Most Wired" designation by Hospitals and Health Networks Magazine. The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer has rated RWJUH among the nation's best comprehensive cancer centers. For more information, visit us online at www.rwjbh.org/newbrunswick.