Open-heart patients at Central Baptist Hospital recover in our 12-bed cardiothoracic intensive care unit for the first 12 to 36 hours after surgery.

About the Unit

Located on the second floor of Building D (1740), the CTICU features all private rooms with glass walls to allow nurses to closely observe patients. State-of-the-art monitors are used to monitor all hemodynamic systems. The unit is staffed by nurses who are certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support and have at least one year of critical care nursing experience. For the first 12 hours post-operatively, open heart surgery patients are cared for on a 1:1 nurse/patient ratio. The maximum nurse/patient ratio thereafter is 1:2.

Patients remain on the unit for about 24 hours after surgery. Then they are moved to our patient focused care unit on 4 North.

Visitation

Family support can be very important to a patient's recovery. CTICU staff works with families to allow as much visiting time as possible. Please check with the staff about time and visiting guidelines. We try to include families and significant others into our patients' care and education whenever possible.