Specialists with University of Iowa Children's Hospital will soon begin caring for seriously ill and injured children in a new pediatric intensive care unit. The new pediatric intensive care unit is part of a $23.6 project at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The project also includes a new maternity center and neonatal intensive care unit.
The new pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) combines advanced technology with family-friendly features. The region's most critically ill children will have private rooms where parents can stay with their child, 24-hours a day. This family-centered approach plays an important role in a child's recovery.
"We have room in the unit for families to stay in the room with the child and to be more and more of a participant in the care of their child during their stay in the PICU," says Fred Lamb, M.D., PICU medical director.
"In each patient room we now have a couch that folds out into a single bed so the parent has a place to sleep. They can stay right there with their child, 24 hours a day," says Tricis Michna, R.N., PICU nurse.
A comprehensive team of specialists serves patients in the PICU including Eastern Iowa's only pediatric intensivists. These are physicians specially trained in pediatric critical care.
"We provide care for a variety of patients from kids who have different medical illnesses to surgical patients to trauma patients," says Carrie George, M.D., pediatric intensivist.
New, state-of-the-art equipment is a key component in this project as well. But specialists say it's the larger space and comforts of home that make the biggest impact for patients and families.
The new facility also has a family lounge complete with showers, a kitchenette and internet access. It officially opens March 30th.
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