Advanced Intensive Care Unit to be Unveiled at UT Med Center
The sickest patients and most complex medical cases come to university hospitals, and The University of Toledo Medical Center is no exception. This month, UTMC will unveil one of the most modern intensive care units in the nation utilizing the newest health-care technology to heal the sick, speed their recovery, and make their stay as comfortable as possible.
The 22-bed unit will open following a short program and ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, March 8, at 10 a.m. in the new ICU waiting area on the third floor of UT Medical Center.
“This new facility pairs some of the best clinicians and physicians in the region with the most advanced tools in health care,” said Dr. Jeffrey Gold, chancellor, executive vice president for biosciences and health affairs, and dean of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences. “The result is truly a higher degree of healing and increased peace of mind for families.”
Among the most advanced technology in the new ICU are the beds, which provide connections to UTMC’s electronic medical records, alert clinicians to potential health risks such as falls, and facilitate communication and healing.
“The new ICU enables UTMC clinicians and physicians to provide better, more efficient care,” said Dr. Scott Scarborough, senior vice president and executive director of UTMC. “Its decentralized layout keeps nurses closer to the patients they’re treating and, along with automated hand-washing systems, further reduces the risk for secondary infections.”
Each room also is equipped with a 42-inch patient display that can serve as a television or a computer monitor, and the beds provide a range of sound therapies — from classical and jazz music to the sounds of nature — to help promote healing.
“University hospitals set the standard of care in any community,” said UT President Lloyd Jacobs. “This renovation, combined with other planned facility improvements over the next several years, will provide UT doctors, nurses and caregivers the resources they need to keep pushing the bar higher. We are educating the next generation of health-care providers, and the push to teach our students and residents the newest techniques is what makes university-owned hospitals great.”
Additional UT Medical Center ICU features include:
• Patient beds with powered transportation and braking systems that enhance caregiver safety and reduce potential injuries;
• Intelligent bed communications that can translate commands and questions into 24 languages and can broadcast information to personal digital assistants or nurse communication devices;
• Sound therapy technology that plays classical, jazz and nature-oriented music to promote healing and relaxation;
• Chaperone Bed Exit System that identifies when a patient is close to a fall risk and sounds an alert to the caregiver;
• Therapeutic mattresses that reduce the incidents of skin pressure ulcers and enhance patient comfort;
• Complete integration with UT’s electronic medical record system;
• Increased infection control standards, including automated hand-washing systems;
• Improved natural and artificial lighting for better patient recovery and staff morale; and
• 42-inch patient monitors for television broadcasts and Internet access.
Press Release Contact Name: Meghan Cunningham
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Organization Name: University of Toledo