New Larger Cardiovascular Unit

St. Luke’s University Health Network has opened a new, larger Cardiovascular Unit at its Bethlehem Campus for the care of patients recovering from heart surgery. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Aug. 12 on the unit, located on the third floor of the Priscilla Payne Hurd Pavilion in the hospital. The first patients were admitted to the new unit on Aug. 5.

The new Cardiovascular Unit contains 12 critical care beds, twice as many as the prior unit on the fourth floor. Patients on this new unit are prepped for and recover from coronary bypass, heart valve and aneurysm surgeries, receiving all necessary pre- and post-surgical care there until discharge.

This bed increase will accommodate the hospital’s significant growth in heart patient volumes. The renovated Cardiovascular Unit is equipped with new GE heart monitors, patient beds, TVs and furniture and has a new private, family waiting room. The unit’s décor comprises warm, calming colors of paint, wall coverings and artwork.

The Cardiovascular Unit’s medical director and St. Luke’s chief of cardiothoracic surgery Stephen Olenchock, DO, said, “This expanded, modern and beautiful patient-centered space will promote patients’ recovery from cardiac surgery and enable physicians and nurses on the unit to continue providing the high-quality care that has helped earn St. Luke’s accolades as one of the nation’s Top 50 heart hospitals.”

St. Luke’s five cardiothoracic surgeons, and their teams, complete 700 surgeries annually.

Stephanie Kunke, RN, patient care manager on the Cardiovascular Unit, noted that the unit’s bedside nurses were integral to planning the updated workflow and physical renovations. It features a “universal bed” model, which enables the same nurses to take care of a patient throughout his/her stay on the unit, from post-surgery to discharge. Fifteen private medical-surgical rooms were also added to the unit where patients will convalesce prior to discharge from the hospital. 

“Decentralized nurses’ stations give the nurses a better direct-line view of their patients, promoting greater continuity and quality of care throughout the patients’ stay from immediate post-op critical care to step-down and eventual discharge,” Kunkle added.