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by Ashley Barker
Public Relations
In less than 30 minutes on Tuesday, Oct. 23, seven patients in the neuroscience intensive care unit (NSICU) were moved from the ninth floor to their new home on the eighth floor.
Respiratory therapy coordinator David Crout and registered nurse II Allyson Hiers help move a patient from 9 Center to 8 Center. When 9 Center reopens, there will be 16 NSICU beds.
The move came three hours after the new 8 Center NSICU opened and the 9 Center NSICU closed for a temporary facelift. Construction crews are expected to install new doors, paint the walls and upgrade technology by the end of November. Once completed, the fully equipped 16-bed neuroscience ICU will be operating on the eighth and ninth floors.
"It's been a goal of the service line to add additional ICU beds, just due to the growth of the service line," said June Darby, R.N., administrator of the neuroscience service line.
Stuart Smith, vice president for clinical operations and executive director of the medical center, left, helps cut the ribbon to commemorate the opening of the 8 Center NSICU. Helping Smith cut the ribbon are, from left nurses Cheryl Holderfield and Mark Mccaslin, and Drs. Sunil Patel and Angela Hays.
To commemorate the opening of the unit, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held. Stuart Smith, vice president for clinical operations and executive director of the medical center, helped cut the ribbon, along with Cheryl Holderfield, R.N., nurse manager of the NSICU, and other members of the unit. NSICU medical director Julio Chalela, M.D., who is a U.S. Army major and brigade surgeon stationed at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo, communicated via Skype during the ceremony.
"We are excited about the opening of the eighth floor NSICU," he said. "It is the only specialized academic neurosciences intensive care unit in the state of South Carolina and the only place that can provide advanced care for patients with complex neurological injuries."
Neuroscience Service Line administrator June Darby, R.N., shows NSICU medical director Dr. Julio Chalela the new unit. Chalela is currently deployed to Kosovo and Skyped in for the ceremony. Bottom photo: NSICU staff begin the process of moving patients to 8 Center.
Eight Center was a temporary ICU for surgical trauma, but when that unit moved out it was left empty for quite some time, according to Darby. The NSICU staff — a blend of newly hired and veteran employees — will offer several levels of care in its new facility, ranging from neurosurgery and neuroscience to procedures for tumors, aneurysms and strokes.
In addition to new paint, the NSICU will be able to add an award to its new walls soon. Holderfield was recently named a 2013 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Circle of Excellence Award recipient.
"I love what I'm doing, and I love MUSC," she said. "Early intervention can make all the difference in the outcome. We do see a good outcome for a lot of our patients. It's incredible."
Holderfield will be honored at the 2013 AACN National Teaching Institute and Critical Care Exposition in Boston, May 18-23.
Registered nurses Perette Sabatino, left, and Marilyn James look at a Philips patient monitor. The NSICU now has 11 nurses who have earned national certification in either neuro nursing or critical care. For information on the unit, call
792-7898.
Friday, Nov. 2, 2012
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