Virginia’s only cardiac intensive care unit for children opens at VCU’s MCV Hospitals

By Joe Kuttenkuler

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical College of Virginia Hospitals today (March 27) opened the state’s only pediatric intensive-care unit specializing in cardiac care. The new unit is dedicated to the treatment of children with complex congenital heart diseases (CHD), which are structural defects or abnormalities in the heart or vessels that carry blood to or away from the heart. The seven-bed unit provides comprehensive, multi-specialty cardiac care for children ranging from newborns to young adults.

"This unit will be a tremendous statewide resource for patients and families," said Lucian "Buck" Durham, M.D., Ph.D., pediatric cardiac surgeon and director of the new unit. "Parents of children with complex cardiac problems will no longer have to travel out of Virginia to receive the special care that their children require."

The new ICU is the centerpiece of the Children’s Heart Center at VCU, which offers a full range of medical services for children with a variety of heart problems.

"Providing comprehensive, multi-specialty medical care is the goal of our Children’s Heart Center and this ICU brings together a diverse staff with a wealth of experience in treating children," said Richard Schieken, M.D., chairman of the division of pediatric cardiology at VCU.

Combined with state-of-the-art medical technology, the new ICU draws on the expertise of a variety of specialties including: pediatric cardiac and critical care; pediatric cardiac surgery; neonatology; pediatric anesthesiology and pain control. When it is fully staffed, the unit will have 24 nurses and seven respiratory therapists, all specializing in pediatric cardiac care.

"The diverse staff of professionals is what really makes this unit unique," Durham said. "Infants and children can’t be treated like adults when it comes to caring for their hearts and the team we have assembled does nothing but treat children with congenital heart disease."

The focal point of the new ICU is the physician command center, which will link the unit with various hospitals throughout the state. In addition to telemedicine capability, which enables doctors to diagnose certain heart conditions in patients many miles away, the command center is video-linked with the operating room and radiology department to streamline the transfer of information. Radiology can quickly send x-rays over the computer rather than physically delivering them. Finally, the center will operate a heart hotline – MCV-HRTS – for community physicians to call with questions about their patients or referrals.

"We want to be a resource for community physicians and other medical personnel. If doctors want to check on a patient who is staying with us or if they simply want to discuss a case, one of our doctors or nurses can be on the phone with them immediately," Durham said.

Another component to the unit is an air medical transport system. The hospital is exploring the possibility of using a helicopter to transport patients to the hospital from remote areas of Virginia.

"Having the ability to pick up and bring back patients who need immediate medical attention is a critical component of establishing a first-rate, full-service cardiac ICU," said Durham.

In addition to high-tech services, the unit also features personal touches for its young patients. The decor consists of soft colors, with a wall paper border of trains, as well as activities intended to make a child’s stay in the unit more comfortable.

"Some of our children won’t be as ill as others, so we’ve installed VCRs and video games to try and make their hospital stay as pleasant as possible," Durham said.

The new cardiac ICU is part of the Children’s Medical Center at VCU’s MCV Hospitals, which opened the state’s first pediatric ICU in 1978.