Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) OverviewThe Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) is a 12-bed unit where cardiac critical care is provided to pediatric patients with congenital and acquired heart disease as well as selected adults with congenital heart disease. The nursing staff is dedicated to the intensive care of cardiac patients and the medical faculty includes pediatric cardiac intensivists, pediatric cardiologists, pediatric general intensivists and pediatric cardiac anesthesiologists.The medical faculty collaborates closely with the pediatric and adult cardiothoracic surgery faculty to manage postoperative cardiac patients. Other CVICU team members include pediatric cardiology, pediatric critical care medicine, and cardiothoracic surgery fellows, ICU hospitalists, pediatric residents and a CVICU nurse practitioner. Since the CVICU opened in November 2001, approximately 450-475 patients have been admitted per year. The majority of patients are admitted for intensive care following congenital heart surgery or heart transplantation. A complete range of cardiac intensive care services are available, including mechanical circulatory support with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and ventricular assist devices (VADs). Subspecialists from the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at LPCH are available at all times to assist with echocardiography, cardiac catheterization, and evaluation and management of patients with complex electrophysiologic, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension and cardiac transplantation issues, as well as adults with complex congenital heart disease. The CVICU will be expanding to 20 beds in 2006, and four additional medical faculty dedicated to pediatric cardiac intensive care will be added and a senior clinical fellowship in pediatric cardiac intensive care initiated to prepare for this expansion. Back to top Tour the CVICUPlease take our 360 degree virtual tour of the Children's Heart Center to get a glimpse of the CVICU.If your child will be a patient in the CVICU and you would like an in-person tour, please call the LPCH Information Desk at (650) 497-8005. Tours walk through the CVICU, parents lounge and surgical waiting area. You will also get an introduction to unit protocol, visiting guidelines and our staff. Spanish speaking tour guides are available. Back to top Information for Referring PhysiciansPatients can be referred for admission to the CVICU by:
Faculty and Staff
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital is located in Palo Alto, adjacent to Stanford University Hospital, approximately 20 miles north of San Jose, CA and 40 miles south of San Francisco.
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