Your Hospital Stay
Comprehensive Heart Care in the Hospital
At the Florence Wormald Heart & Vascular Institute at St. Elizabeth, our goal is to provide exceptional care. Whether you’ve been hospitalized for a heart condition or you’re here for heart surgery or a heart catheterization procedure, you can expect the very best care. From postsurgical care and specialized cardiac intensive care to transitional care, we provide comprehensive inpatient care that is personalized to you.
Your Heart Care Team
During your stay, a cardiologist and a nurse practitioner or physician assistant oversee your care and order tests. Our dedicated team is always available, working closely with heart care nurses and other specialized caregivers to deliver comprehensive care.
Specially Trained Heart Care Nurses
Each heart care unit is staffed by nurses who specialize in caring for patients at a particular level of care: our Cardiac Surgery Recovery Unit, our Cardiac Intensive Care Unit or our Transitional Care Units. We believe this specialization in care allows our nurses to perfect their skills in their area of expertise — which means better care for you.
All heart and vascular nurses receive rigorous onboarding and annual training sessions to ensure nurses have the latest skills to manage even the most critical heart and vascular conditions. Our nurses are experienced in performing various procedures — such as working with ventilators — and knowledgeable about the medicines and treatments for various conditions.
Transitional Care Unit
If you need heart monitoring, called telemetry monitoring, you may stay in one of our Transitional Care Units.
Telemetry is a way to monitor your heartbeat while you’re in the hospital. Your nurse will attach adhesive patches to your chest, which pick up your heart’s electrical signals. The signals are transmitted wirelessly and displayed on screen, and the system will alert your care team if your heartbeat changes.
Our wireless system allows nurses to observe your heart function at all times, whether you’re in your room or walking in the hallway.
Cardiac Intensive Care Unit
If you’re hospitalized with a serious heart condition or you need additional after heart catheterization, you’ll be admitted to our Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU).
Designed specifically for heart care, the CICU offers the latest medical technology and is staffed by a highly trained heart care team. In addition to close monitoring by heart care nurses, critical care doctors and nurse practitioners monitor you remotely at all times for changes in your condition.
The CICU also provides doctors with additional tools to keep you and your family members well-informed about your condition. If you have heart catheterization, video images are taken during the procedure. After the procedure, your doctor can review the images with you and your family at your bedside. This gives both you and your loved ones a better understanding of your condition and treatment. The unit combines the latest medical technology in a healing environment that’s focused on your needs.
Cardiac Surgery Recovery Unit
Following heart surgery, you’ll go directly to a private room in the Cardiac Surgery Recovery Unit. You’ll receive round-the-clock care and monitoring from your specialized care team — doctors, heart care nurses and other healthcare professionals.
In most cases, you’ll stay in the same room until you’re discharged from the hospital — we’re one of only a few hospitals in the area to offer this. This improves coordination and communication among your caregivers.
If you need additional monitoring, you may go to a Transitional Care Unit or our Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.
