VCU news

By Michael Ford
University News Services

RICHMOND, Va. – The Greater Richmond area’s first critical care unit for children – the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center Pediatric Intensive Care Unit – is marking 25 years of service to critically ill children with an anniversary celebration that reunites former patients and their families with PICU’s doctors, nurses and other staff, Saturday, Aug. 16, 5 - 9 p.m., at the Children’s Museum of Richmond, 2626 W. Broad St.

The VCU Medical Center PICU has tallied more than 17,000 admissions since it opened in 1978. John J. Mickell, M.D., chair of pediatric critical care medicine and director of the pediatric intensive care unit, has led the PICU from the start. "Our unit was a pioneer in the state of Virginia. We were the first to offer a new specialty, pediatric critical care," he said. "Over the years, we have advanced the level of care thanks to emerging technologies and from knowledge gained from critical care research, done here and elsewhere."

Fully equipped with the latest instrumentation, and ready to employ the latest life support techniques, the VCU Medical Center’s PICU is a Level-1, 12-bed critical care area staffed for the care of critically ill infants, children, and adolescents. Common admission diagnoses include seizures, meningitis, asthma, congenital heart disease, circulatory shock, diabetes, kidney failure, acute blood disorders, poisoning, and multiple trauma.

In addition to admissions from the emergency rooms, pediatric floors, and operating rooms, the PICU is a referral site for hospitals in the Richmond area and regional hospitals extending north to Fredericksburg and south to the Virginia border.

Using a team approach, an "intensivist" coordinates the care of each young patient with appropriate staff that can include specially trained pediatric intensive care nurses and pediatric nurse practitioners, a pediatric pharmacist, a pediatric respiratory therapist, a pediatric dietician, pediatric occupational and physical therapists, a chaplain, and a social worker.

"All of our PICU nurses have pediatric advanced life support certification and the broad training and experience to care for any acutely ill patient," said Mary Walker, R.N., nurse manager of the pediatric intensive care unit.

The care team can be expanded to draw on the expertise of a multitude of sub-specialists in pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery, pediatric neurology and neurosurgery, pediatric general surgery and other surgical sub-specialties such as pediatric hematology/oncology, pediatric pulmonology, and pediatric nephrology.

The medical and nursing expertise will move to new quarters at the end of the year when a $2.3 million renovation and relocation of the PICU is scheduled for completion. The new unit will have 12-critical care beds like the current PICU, but will be configured to provide larger, more private patient spaces that can accommodate visitation by family 24 hours a day and advance a concept known as family-centered care.

Food Lion is contributing $1 million towards the cost of the PICU renovation project.