The Penn State Hershey Heart and Vascular Institute at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center celebrated the opening of two new units dedicated to the critical care needs of heart and vascular patients on Thursday, Sept. 17. The co-located Heart and Vascular Intensive Care Unit and Heart and Vascular Intermediate Care Unit create a hospital-within-a-hospital model that provides the most efficient access to the resources and specially trained staff needed by patients recovering from cardiovascular events and procedures, including transplant surgery or implantation of artificial heart pumps.
“Penn State Hershey Heart and Vascular Institute has become a national model for advanced cardiovascular care, and these new units enable us to remain on the leading edge,” said Lawrence Sinoway, director of the institute. “These dedicated units provide a modern, open and efficient space in which experts from various specialties can easily collaborate to provide a level of care that is unmatched in this region.”
The state-of-the-art, 15-bed intensive care unit has a one to one or one to two nurse-to-patient ratio, while the 15-bed intermediate care unit has a one to three nurse-to-patient ratio.
The new intensive care unit is directed by Aly El-Banayosy, an internationally known expert in the area of mechanical circulatory support, such as ventricular assist devices, or heart pumps.
“This dedicated space lets us provide ready access to the latest tools and skilled clinicians required to care for the sickest of the sick,” El-Banayosy said. “We are able to save lives or preserve the quality of life for patients whose outcomes would not have been promising in the recent past.”
Implantation of a heart pump or a total artificial heart allows the care team to sustain a failing heart until a donor heart is found for transplant. Sometimes, a failing heart can be nursed back to health by the innovative use of an external heart/lung bypass therapy called ECMO. Last year the Heart and Vascular Institute’s ventricular assist device program was the first in the region to receive Joint Commission certification. The Heart and Vascular Institute also is the region’s only center for heart transplantation, performing more than 400 in the 25-year history of this program.