Critical Care
Critical Care at BIDMC
The Division of Critical Care is a major division in the department and provides critical care services in the four surgical intensive care units (ICUs) at BIDMC:
Trauma Surgical Intensive Care Unit (TSICU) A 10-bed unit caring for trauma, thoracic, and acute care surgery patients admitted largely through the emergency room. Coverage of this unit is shared 50% with the Division of Surgical Critical Care.
Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) An eight-bed unit caring for a variety of surgical patients including transplant, hepato-biliary, and general surgery. Coverage of this unit is shared 50% with the Division of Surgical Critical Care.
Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) A 15-bed unit caring for patients undergoing cardiac and vascular surgery. This unit is covered 100% of the time by the Division of Anesthesia Critical Care.
Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (Neurosciences ICU) An eight-bed unit caring for patients with neurology and neurosurgical patients. This unit dedicated to the care of neuroscience patients opened in June 2016, with coverage of this unit being shared 50% with the Department of Neurology
All of the surgical ICUs are semi-closed, and patients are cared for by multidisciplinary critical care teams. The SICU and TSICU teams consist of an attending critical care physician, a critical care fellow, and dedicated house officers from the Departments of Anesthesia, Surgery, and Emergency Medicine. The CVICU team consists of an attending critical care physician, a nurse practitioner/physician assistant, and an attending cardiac surgeon. The Neuroscience ICU team consists of an attending critical care physician, critical care fellow, neurology resident, and nurse practitioner. Overnight and on weekends, each unit is covered by a call resident (SICU/TSICU) or nurse practitioner/physician assistant (Neurosciences ICU and CVICU). Each night of the week, a single anesthesia attending provides in-house coverage of all four surgical units and is assisted by an on-call fellow.
The division is actively involved in the ICU coverage of our community affiliates. Since October 2012, the division has covered the critical care unit at BID–Plymouth. Since February, 2016 the Division has covered the critical care unit at BID–Milton.
Trauma Surgical Intensive Care Unit (TSICU) A 10-bed unit caring for trauma, thoracic, and acute care surgery patients admitted largely through the emergency room. Coverage of this unit is shared 50% with the Division of Surgical Critical Care.
Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) An eight-bed unit caring for a variety of surgical patients including transplant, hepato-biliary, and general surgery. Coverage of this unit is shared 50% with the Division of Surgical Critical Care.
Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) A 15-bed unit caring for patients undergoing cardiac and vascular surgery. This unit is covered 100% of the time by the Division of Anesthesia Critical Care.
Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (Neurosciences ICU) An eight-bed unit caring for patients with neurology and neurosurgical patients. This unit dedicated to the care of neuroscience patients opened in June 2016, with coverage of this unit being shared 50% with the Department of Neurology
All of the surgical ICUs are semi-closed, and patients are cared for by multidisciplinary critical care teams. The SICU and TSICU teams consist of an attending critical care physician, a critical care fellow, and dedicated house officers from the Departments of Anesthesia, Surgery, and Emergency Medicine. The CVICU team consists of an attending critical care physician, a nurse practitioner/physician assistant, and an attending cardiac surgeon. The Neuroscience ICU team consists of an attending critical care physician, critical care fellow, neurology resident, and nurse practitioner. Overnight and on weekends, each unit is covered by a call resident (SICU/TSICU) or nurse practitioner/physician assistant (Neurosciences ICU and CVICU). Each night of the week, a single anesthesia attending provides in-house coverage of all four surgical units and is assisted by an on-call fellow.
The division is actively involved in the ICU coverage of our community affiliates. Since October 2012, the division has covered the critical care unit at BID–Plymouth. Since February, 2016 the Division has covered the critical care unit at BID–Milton.
Additional clinical services provided by the division include:
- Airway management and support for all ICUs and the hospital at large
- Code coverage of the west campus
- Anesthesia for tracheostomies in all ICUs
- Anesthesia coverage of elective cardioversions
- Focused echocardiography support for in-hospital cardiac arrests using hand-held echo devices
- Coverage of the West Campus post-anesthesia care unit.