Areas of Specialty

Cardiac

Patients receiving heart care at St. John’s have a higher than average surgery survival rate, less post-operative infections, more experience in procedures and a quicker return to normal activity.

Cardiac Surgery

Patients served by this unit are surgical, ranging from healthy ambulatory to critically ill, needing any cardiovascular-thoracic surgical procedures and ranging in age from neonate through geriatric.

Cardiovascular Recovery Unit (CRU)

Cardiovascular Recovery Unit (CRU) has the latest in hemodynamic monitoring. The unit operates on a 24-hour basis with post-op open heart patients being monitored overnight. Vascular and thoracic patients are monitored two or more hours and then transferred to a step-down unit in the hospital. CRU averages five to six open heart patients and three to four vascular/thoracic patients daily. The nurse/patient ratio is 1:1 for immediate post-op open heart patients and 2:1 for other patients. The staff of CRU consists of RNs, NTs and Clerks.

Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory (Cath Lab)

St. John’s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory is number one in Illinois for cardiac interventional services and number 10 in the U.S. for overall cardiac services. The Cath Lab consists of eight suites equipped with the latest technology for performing coronary and peripheral diagnostic and interventional procedures, as well as electrophysiology and device implant procedures. The Cath Lab also participates in interventional clinical research studies.

Performing over 9,000 procedures last year, the Cath Lab Team is comprised of an RN, Cardiovascular Technologist and Special Procedures X-Ray Technologist, led by the Cardiologist.

The Cath Lab is open Monday - Thursday 24 hours, with tapering hours on the weekend, but always 24 hour emergency call coverage.

Cardiac Care Unit (CCU)

The Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) is a six-bed unit that maintains 24 hour patient monitoring of a variety of acute cardiovascular conditions, including acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrests, post-stent patients, cardiomyopathies, congestive heart failure, cardiogenic shock, tamponade, arrhythmias, and many other pathologies that result in hemodynamic instability. CCU frequently cares for patients on many types of life support equipment, such as intra-aortic balloon pumps and ventilators. Hemodynamic monitoring is state-of-the-art and frequently invasive, with the use of arterial lines, Swan-Ganz catheters, and central venous catheters. The Cardiac Care Unit is the recipient of patients from all over downstate Illinois, with many of them airlifted.

Patient ratios are 2:1 and 1:1 for patients that are of the most critical acuity. The primary physicians of CCU patients are cardiologists, with frequent consults from other specialties. Cardiac Care Unit nurses are ACLS certified and supported by clerical and patient care staff.

Cardiopulmonary- CPU

CPU (Cardiopulmonary Unit) is a medial and surgical cardiac telemetry unit, which cares for individual’s who have undergone open heart surgery, cardiac transplantation, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, vascular bypass procedures, implantation of cardiac pacemakers or internal cardioverter defibrillators. Patients may have undergone cardiac catheterization, coronary angioplasty, placement of vascular stents or radio frequency ablation.

Patients are also admitted for evaluation and diagnosis of coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure (CHF) or respiratory diseases such chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This is a fast-paced unit, which uses a team model in the delivery of nursing care. RN team leaders are responsible for four to six patients and LPNs, NTs and NAs are responsible for five to six patients on days and evenings and eight patients on nights. This is an excellent unit for students in the healthcare profession. Although this is primarily a cardiac unit, our patients have multi-system problems cared for with a multidisciplinary approach.

Cardiac

Cardiac admits patients primarily from Pre-Cath and those arriving by ambulance from out of town hospitals. Although the focus is sending and recovering procedural (cardiac catheterization and cardioversion) and interventional (balloon and stent) patients, care is given to medical patients with CHF, COPD and dysrhythmias as well. Many of the patients are on IV drips including NTG, Heparin, Dopamine, Milrinone, Reopro, Aggrastat, Integrilin and antiarrhythmics such as Amiodarone. It is a fast-paced floor with a high patient turnover rate. It is a great environment for a multitude of learning experiences.

Heart Failure/Heart Support Service

The heart failure service sees patients at the hospital and in the outpatient clinic. This service evaluates patients with the diagnosis of cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, diastolic dysfunction, and generalized weak heart pump syndromes. This fascinating group of patients comprises the largest discharge diagnosis for patients over the age of 65. Yet cardiomyopathy (a weak heart muscle) can also affect postpartum mothers and young children.

The heart failure service works with a multidisciplinary heart support team including a pharmacist, dietitian, exercise physiologist, counselor, pulmonary rehab specialist, cardiologist, and heart failure nurse specialists. Patients and their families are educated about the signs and symptoms of heart failure, medications, diet, exercise, treatment options and the role the patient has in their healthcare. These patients can make a huge impact on the outcome of this disease with their active participation in their plan of care.

This is an exciting area of health care and students and nurses with an interest in heart failure are welcomed to witness the tests being conducted to optimize current heart failure treatment including cardiopulmonary stress test, BIOZ, B-type natriuretic peptide, t-wave alternans testing, Audicor along with the Cardiocom scale to monitor symptoms and weight daily from patients’ homes via modem. There are new treatments being analyzed regularly..

 

For more information

email ann.randol@st-johns.org