VCU news

By Michael Ford
University News Services

RICHMOND, Va. - The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center today unveiled a new $2.3 million critical care unit for children - a complete redesign and relocation of the Greater Richmond area's first pediatric intensive care unit - featuring modern rooms that can enhance the delivery of family-centered care.

The new unit, know as the VCU Medical Center Food Lion Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, is the result of a $1 million contribution from Food Lion through Children's Miracle Network. The VCU Health System provided $1.3 million in matching funds for the new unit. The new PICU has 12 critical care beds like the current PICU, but has been 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, which recognizes the value of family member's presence at the bedside to decrease a child's anxiety and help promote recovery.

"We have always cared for children and families. Our new modern center will be an asset as we continue providing cutting edge care, with all the disciplines and all the physicians for pediatric specialties," said Joseph Laver, M.D., Jesse Ball duPont professor and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics.

Fully equipped with the latest instrumentation and 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 children, including heart surgery patients, liver transplant patients and head injury patients. In addition to admissions from the emergency room, pediatric floors, and operating rooms, the PICU is a referral site for hospitals in the Richmond area and regional hospitals from Fredericksburg to Virginia's southern border. Patients arrive from local and distant hospitals via ambulance or helicopter, using VCU Medical Center's helicopter transport service VCU LifeEvac.  

The VCU Medical Center PICU has handled more than 17,000 admissions since it opened in 1978 and was the first in Virginia to offer a non-traditional specialty area, pediatric critical care, headed by a fellowship-trained intensivist. John J. Mickell, M.D., has led the unit from the star

"Among the medical specialties, pediatric intensive care is like emergency medicine. Both specialties manage similar acute life-threatening illnesses but in different hospital settings. 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," said Mickell, chair of pediatric critical care medicine and director of the pediatric intensive care unit.

Comfort of patients and families figured prominently in the unit's design.  In addition to larger patient rooms, there is a family resource area with Internet connections and a family shower area. Ronald McDonald House helped furnish a playroom on the floor and donated flat screen televisions and VCR/DVD players for patient rooms. Kid friendly colors like navy blue, lime green and periwinkle are used to accent patient and family areas.

"We want our patients and families to be comfortable," said Mary Walker, R.N., nurse manager of the pediatric intensive care unit. "Our average patient stay is four days, but some stay much longer than that. The new colors and furniture will offer a home-like feel and downplay elements that could contribute to a threatening atmosphere." 

"Food Lion is proud to have played a key role in the building of this pediatric intensive care unit," said Dwayne Gilley, Food Lion's northern division vice president of retail operations. "Our support of the VCU Medical Center is indicative of Food Lion's commitment to its local communities and the Children's Miracle Network.

"The VCU Medical Center, with its skilled and dedicated physicians and nurses, has always helped children battle serious illnesses and make full recoveries," Gilley added. "Food Lion is so pleased this new intensive care unit now has space that allows parents to be with their children around the clock."

The unit uses a team approach. When needed, the entire team can converge on the care of a patient. That team is lead by an intensivist who coordinates the care 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, a social worker and child life specialists. 

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, pediatric hematology/oncology, pediatric pulmonology, pediatric endocrinology, and pediatric nephrology.

First established as a 4-bed unit, the PICU is celebrating 25 years of service to the most critically ill children in the Greater Richmond area and averages 950 admissions a year.